The Edge Of Hell
by TheBaeTide
Summary: Based around 'Sympathy for the Devil' & 'Just Call Me Lucifer' stories - The Grimes family find themselves in a new world, where they encounter problems like never before. Rick is Ready. Michonne is still Flawless. AU. Walkers.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** : The lovely, IsisNichole, gave me the idea of uploading the first chapter to the apocalyptic version of 'Just Call Me Lucifer/Sympathy For The Devil'. Is it possible to have a fanfic.. about a fanfic? Because if so, this is what this is lol, I love writing this version of the Grimes and I don't want to stop, so this story is literally going to be just for fun, as I will be tempted to go back to the other version in the future… Either way, hope you angels enjoy!

...

 **Chapter 1:**

 _'...The most Beautiful Thang...'_

Rick woke up to sun rays warming his skin. He used pure will power to open an eye, and to his horror, the blinds were up and the window was open. He groaned as he rolled over, but was met with a wall of resistance.

"Oh my god, dad stop-"

"Daddy! Stop moving-"

"Naughty daddy!"

"Rick, quit moving"

He frowned as he peered at his family, all squashed onto his queen sized bed. Carl was at the foot of the bed, tapping away at his phone screen, while Judith was sat between he and Michonne, playing on Rick's phone, and Andre was laid across all of them, watching some brightly colored program on the TV.

"Really? All three of you are in my bed now?", He rasped as he sat up, "Why the hell are you even here, Carl?"

"I still live here on the weekends", His son countered, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"I don't remember agreeing to that…", Rick mumbled, before looking down at Judith, "You better not be running up a bill again, Judith"

"No, daddy", She muttered, not attempting to look at him either.

"Oh god! Andre let one go!", Carl groaned as he pulled his t-shirt over his nose.

"Gross!", Judith cried, slapping her hand over her mouth.

"Leave my little stinky butt alone", Michonne pouted as she looked at the small, curly haired boy, who was paying no attention to the commotion he caused.

"Jesus Christ", Rick recoiled when the smell hit him, looking to Michonne, "What the hell did you give him?"

"You leave him alone, too", She pointed one of the papers she held in her hand at him.

"It smells like _death,_ Michonne"

"He has a lot of vegetables in his diet-"

"You still got him on that vegan nonsense? Have you noticed the difference in how he smells compared to how those two smelt at that age? He could clear a room with that butt"

She bit her lip as she tried to suppress a chuckle, "Stop it."

"We could use him on the force. We don't need teargas, just throw him at the crowd"

Carl snickered from the other side of the bed, "That's funny"

"Can ya'll get out of my bed, please? Saturday mornings are for me and your mother to lay in-"

"You said you'd take me to get my pageant dress, daddy?", Judith's brows furrowed together, finally tearing her gaze away from the phone.

He matched her expression, "Yeah, later"

"But I don't want to wait any longer! I want to see it and try it on-"

"It's not going anywhere-", Rick stopped himself when he noticed something different about his daughter's face, "What happened to your eyebrows?"

Judith's eyes widened, and she quickly buried herself underneath the comforter.

"What happened to her eyebrows? Why are they so thin?", He questioned Michonne.

She sighed, "Judith, tell your father what happened"

Judith called out a muffled, "No!"

"Girl, you better get up here", Michonne warned, skimming over the words on the page.

"You said you'd tell him for me!"

"I lied. Tell him."

"You better get up and tell me, Judith. Now", Rick waited for her to appear.

His daughter removed the comforter with a huff, "Mama caught me plucking my eyebrows so she had to fix them for me"

Rick studied the area again, "Why are you doing things to your face? There was nothing wrong with your eyebrows! You're ten years old!"

"They're bushy!", She complained.

His face pinched, "You're _ten_ years old! I don't care if they grow all the way down to your chin! You leave them the hell alone!"

Carl chuckled, so did Michonne as she shook her head at him, "She didn't do too much damage Rick, and they'll grow back"

"They better! I want to see them how they're meant to look a month from now-"

"Okay, daddy-", Judith exhaled, dropping her head on his shoulder.

"Good girl", He leant down and kissed her forehead, "You're absolutely beautiful the way you are. You look like your mama, and ain't she the most beautiful thang you ever seen?"

"She is", the girl nodded.

Michonne gave him a bashful smile, "Stop"

"Feel free to throw some compliments down here", Carl suggested from behind his phone.

"You look like me. There's your compliment", Rick smirked.

"Look, see! Daddy!", Andre called, pointing to the screen as he scrambled to his feet.

Rick looked up to the flat screen TV on the wall, and sure enough, there he was, "Oh god, I look old"

"Why are you on TV, daddy?", Judith quizzed, sitting up in shock.

"There were a few attacks yesterday, they wanted to check we had it under control"

"You think they're on drugs or something? For them to be attacking people that way, it must be drugs?", Michonne's voice was thick with concern.

"We don't know yet, but it's a possibility... Apparently they're biting people-"

"Did you see it happen?", Carl probed, finally dropping his phone to his chest.

"Nah, just the aftermath, and it weren't pretty at all. Good thing they were in the hospital when it happened. They've got special OPS agents over there now, they don't think us small town officers can handle it"

Michonne scoffed, "I'm glad. I don't want you over there if they're trying to eat people"

He chuckled at his wife, "They are not trying to _eat_ people. They're just aggressive, and they're trying to get away"

"Juice!", Andre announced as he stood up on the bed, his hands in the air.

"You want juice? Alright, let's go get you some juice", Rick held out his hands, and his youngest son barrelled towards him, "Come on. We got stuff to do, so I want all of ya'll ready in the next two hours. You too Carl. I'm not having you lounge around the whole day"

"I'm eighteen! That's what I'm meant to do", The young male growled, pulling the comforter over his head.

"Come on. We can have a nice family day out, you used to like that… before you decided to leave the family", Michonne sighed, climbing out the bed.

"Oh my god, mom. Please. I joined the police academy and I'm home every weekend"

"But you don't call in the week, so how am I to know if you're dead or alive?"

"Wait, what? Mom, campus is a thirty minute drive-"

"She's right. You know you're meant to call your mother. You're always meant to call your mother, regardless of when you last saw her and even if she knows exactly where you are. You call her and you let her know you're doing fine and that you're eating well", Rick preached as he walked around the bed carrying Andre, "Now get up... And make the bed"

"Just call me Cinderella already"

"You'd make a pretty Cinderella", Judith smiled as she followed after her mother.

"Thanks!"

"Ju-ju-juice! Ju-ju-juice! Ju-ju-juice!", Andre sang as his father carried him down the stairs.

"Is that your juice song?", Rick grinned at him, "I think daddy likes that"

"Can we order pizza when Lily comes over?", Judith requested as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"What is it with you guys and pizza? Seriously?", He eyed her suspiciously, "Your brother was exactly the same way. Always wanting pizza"

"You like pizza too, daddy"

"I do, but not eight times a week"

"Mama's always making those weird vegetable thangs… and I like meat"

"Hey! It's good for you!", Michonne called over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen.

"I know mama, but not everyday…"

Rick snickered as he let his son run free, "You're not meant to have pizza everyday"

Judith's face crumbled with disgust as she leaned on the door frame, "That's not fun"

"You'll thank me when you're older", Michonne insisted as she poured water into Andre's Sippy, "Where's my little monster?"

"Rah!", Andre growled, running up to her, using his hands as claws.

She smiled at him as she bent down and handed him his cup, "There you go, baby"

Rick waited until his son had the straw in his mouth before lifting him up and carrying him over to Judith, "Here, go sit with your brother so I can kiss on your mother for a little while"

Judith's jaw dropped as she took the toddler, "Eww! Daddy gross!"

"Well ya'll interrupted my morning routine, so it's only fair that I return the favour", He sniggered, watching her stomp away in horror.

"You are terrible", Michonne cackled as she placed the pan on the stove.

"I love my little boy but he's been interfering with our alone time", He made his way over to her.

"We didn't co-sleep with Judith or Carl, so I wanted to try it out. Who'd have known he wouldn't want to leave",

Rick spun her around to face him, "I never want to leave the bed when you're in it"

She giggled as she laced her arms around his neck, "Good, cause I don't want you to"

"Tell Carl to take the kids out, we'll stay here", He grinned as he nuzzled his face in her neck, "We haven't walked around naked for years"

"Because the last time we did we made Andre"

He laughed heartily at her before letting his lips find hers, and he gave her a sweet, soft kiss. He would have preferred to have devoured her in the comfort of their bed, but in all honesty, he'd have her anywhere he could.

"Don't go in there! Daddy's kissing on mama again!"

"Gross!"

Both Rick and Michonne snickered at their horrified children, before Michonne broke away from him, "I have to get breakfast started"

Rick raised an eyebrow at her as he grabbed a handful of her ass, "I think mine is already done-"

"What did I tell you about back there?", She warned, "Only on your birthday"

"You say that but… last time I was back there, you was screaming out all kinds of thangs-"

"Because I was in shock-"

"You called me a king and you told me your body was my castle".

She narrowed her eyes at him, "I got a little carried away"

"You said you wanted to feel my _reign-"_

"I did not!", She hissed, though she couldn't hide her smile as she tried to squirm out of his grip.

"Wonder what I can get you to say tonight-"

"Buy me some new earrings and I'll tell you whatever you want to hear", Her eyes lit up with the suggestion.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "You have more than enough-"

She covered his mouth with his hand as she gasped, "That's blasphemy"

He liked the palm of her hand, causing her to squeal, "Let me get my practise in for later-"

"Daddy! Uncle Daryl's on the phone! He said leave Mama alone, it's urgent!", Judith called from the living room.

"Go get it", Michonne insisted, finally free from his hold and making her way over to the fridge.

He pouted as he took one last look at his wife's toned back and long lean legs, before trudging along the hallway to the living room. All three of his children had decided to recreate the scene he woke up to, by lounging on the couch. He took the phone from Judith's hand with a sigh, "Yeah? What's going on?"

"Aye, somethan's going on, Leon called me and said the lines are ringing off the hook, somethan's going down at the hospital and he ain't been able to get through to any other department", Daryl explained hurriedly.

"What's happening at the hospital?", Rick clicked his fingers at Carl to get his attention, as his youngest son was attempting to jump off the arm of the chair.

"More people are coming in and the military's down there now-"

"What? The military?", Rick frowned, trying to pay attention to the phone call while Judith held up a magazine to him, pointing eagerly at the image of a girl in white dress. He held his finger up to her to signal to wait.

"Yeah, man"

Rick pursed his lips as he considered what to do next, "Get dressed, we're going up there"

"Alright"

He hung up and stalked back to the kitchen, "Listen, I need to get up to the hospital-"

"What for?", She peered over her shoulder with a frown.

"I need to find out what's going on with this thing-"

"You said they were eating people, If they're eating people then what do you need to find out?", She swung around to look at him, her waist length dreads swinging with her.

"Can you calm down, please?", He didn't want to laugh, but he found his wife to be irrational at times.

"No! Somethings happening and you're down playing it-"

"I'm not down playing it! I told you these people are pumped up on somethan' and they're attacking people but the military's down there-"

"The military!?"

"Please, stop screeching, you're gonna wake up every dog within a ten miles radius. Let me go see what's happening and I'll give you a call when I find out, but I don't want ya'll going out there, okay?-"

"See! What does _that_ mean?! Why don't you want us going out there, Rick?!"

"God", He growled, pinching his nose bridge as he turned to leave the room, "It means, I don't know what's going on out there so I don't want any of ya'll out there. That's what it means, so now I'm gonna go change, okay?"

Her eyes darted all over his face, "You better call me-"

"I will-"

"And you better be careful!"

"I always am-"

"Don't do touch anything you're not meant to-"

"Alright!"

…

"Caught Lily playing with her eyebrows, trying to pluck 'em off-"

"Judith too. Michonne had to fix them for her"

Daryl glanced at Rick as he drove, "It's them damn magazines their reading. I told Sasha to put em away"

"I don't know why they're doing it but it needs to stop. She said 'they're bushy'-"

"That's what Lily said! I told her she got brows like me and she damn near cried"

A chuckle burst from Rick's lips, "Well if that isn't an insult"

"Right? She used to be a little tomboy, running around in the dirt and grabbing bugs… now she got her face in her mother's phone all the time. I told her she's nine years old, she needs to act like it"

"Kids these days are growing up too fast. They wanna dress up and go out… except for Carl. He's decided he just wants to live in our damn bed on the weekends"

"...Ya'll do have a nice bed though. 'Chonne showed it to me when you first got it"

"It was nice, before all three of them moved in on it. Andre's bed is like brand new because he's only slept in it once… and even then it was for an hour before he started screaming the place down-"

"What the hell!"

Rick hit the brakes hard when a small group of people ran into the road, all looking back towards the cafe. An older woman spotted him I'm the car and charged over to the window, "Sheriff! In there! Some man's attacking a lady in there! He's biting her!"

Rick glanced at Daryl, before reaching on the glove compartment for his colt python, "Alright, go find somewhere safe! Now!"

Rick and Daryl exited the vehicle and sprinted to the Cafe in a crouched position, trying to see something through the stained glass windows.

Rick approached the door first, as he had their only weapon, and he slowly pushed open the door, only to see over turned tables and chairs. He thought he couldn't hear anything, until the faint sound of chewing caught his attention. He stuck his head inside, and saw movement near the front of the bar.

Slipping through the small gap he made, he drew his weapon, holding it up high as he walked cautiously. Daryl followed behind him with both fists raised.

They both saw the man in question at the same time, bent over another person, causing them both to stop dead in their tracks. Rick looked at Daryl with wide eyes as they tried to wrap their head around the scene before them.

"Hey! Hands up now!", Rick ordered, placing himself in front of Daryl.

The man's head rolled up, and slowly turned to face them with cloudy eyes and a blood stained mouth. A low growl left him, while he still chewed on, what Rick could assume, was an intestine.

"What the fuck is this shit?", Daryl muttered picking up a coke bottle from the bar, holding it like a weapon.

Without thinking about it, Rick shot the man in his shoulder, causing him to fall forward, but he soon began to push himself back up.

"Shoot his back out", Daryl ordered.

Rick shot him again, twice in the back, and while dark red blood poured from the wounds, the man still moved, "He's still moving-"

"I can see that"

The man stood up and faced them, raising his hands as he stumbled towards them.

"His head!", Daryl yelled as they back up.

Rick raced his gun higher and shot the man in the head, stopping him dead in his tracks, and leading him to fall into heap. Rick stared at the body with a horrified expression, "What… the fuck, just happened?"

"He was eating her. Look. He was eating her damn stomach!", Daryl pointed at the other body by the bar.

"He was eating her damn- Oh my god, Michonne was right", Rick's eyes widened when he realised his wife dramatic assumptions were correct.

"What? 'Chonne knew about this?"

"Nah, she was just saying that, but… she was right", Rick narrowed his eyes at the corpse, "He looks just like that other guy we saw at the hospital-"

"They both got them same white eyes", Daryl stepped over the man as he examined him, "Them body shots didn't do shit to him"

"He shook 'em off like we were spraying him with water", Rick crouched down as he raked his fingers through his hair, "This aint drugs… this some kind of virus or somethan'... And this is going around… it's going around and we need to be careful. We shouldn't touch them with our bare hands… we don't even know how it's spreading-"

"Oh shit, you know who this is?"

Rick looked up at his friend, then the body, "Who?"

"He's that new pharmacist. I saw him the other day when Lily had that cold… he just moved here about a week ago"

Rick stood up and looked down at the man, "You think he's been around the people at the hospital?"

"He must of been-", Both men whipped around when they heard another, high pitched growl from behind them.

Rick's eyes widened when he saw the woman on the floor flailing her arms, but barely able to move as her stomach still lay exposed, and a large chunk of her neck missing, "Did she just-"

"How the hell is she moving?! Half her shit is hanging out!", Daryl grabbed the bottle again.

Rick raised his gun again, "Mam?! Can you hear me?"

The woman flipped over, and began to drag herself towards them, causing what was left of her remaining organs to fall to the ground, and causing Rick almost gag. He lowered the pistol to her head and shot her, right between the eyes.

Both men were rooted in the spot, staring down at the bodies in front of them with disbelief. Rick finally moved, scratching his brow with his thumb, "Who the hell do we call about this?"

"...Us?", Daryl rasped, squinting at him.

"Nah, this… this is above us. This is… I don't know _what_ this is", He rubbed the back of his neck, "We'll call an ambulance… then file a report…"

"Saying what? We walked in and shot this man for eating this woman, then shot her because she was meant to be dead but she decided she wasn't ready for that?", Daryl snorted, "There ain't no way that we can write this down without it sounding like some damn story-"

"Freeze!", the door swung open, and Shane appeared, holding his weapon out in front of him. He came to an abrupt halt when he saw the corpses in front of Rick and Daryl, and his eyes almost bulged, "What in the hell-"

"You got called out?", Rick quizzed, taking in his casual clothing.

"Leon called me", Shane answered, looking down at the dead woman, "I was on my way to the department, then I saw all the people outside… what happened?"

"...He was eating her, so we shot him, then… she was meant to be dead. She looked dead. And she started coming towards us and- it doesn't even _sound_ right when I say it", Rick shook his head as he started to pace, "That woman was dead. She was dead. Look at her! That's probably her liver right there, right? He did that. He was eating her. He was eating her and she was dead. Then she… she woke up. She woke up and she started dragging herself over to us…"

"We shot the man four times. You would have thought we were shooting rice grains at him", Daryl added, staring at Shane with a blank expression.

The third man's eyes darted back and forth between them, "So what are you trying to say?"

"We are trying to say that both of these people should have been dead, but they weren't", Rick responded sternly, "She should have been dead, and she should have stayed dead, but she… wasn't"

"Head shots took 'em out", Daryl crouched down with a grunt.

Shane ran his hand over his mouth, "You think it's drugs?"

"What drug does this, Shane? Huh? Just look. _Look_ at them. What drug does that?", Rick cocked his head at the man, "Meth? Heroine?-"

"...Could be a bad batch?"

Rick's eye twitched as he stared at the man, "You know what, call an ambulance, tell them what happened so they can send out whoever they need to send out, and we'll have to tell people to stay in their homes until… until this makes sense. People are already starting to panic-"

"Can't blame 'em ", Daryl mumbled.

"Just… we'll drive around, and tell them to stay in their homes, then we get to the hospital… talk to them and see how they're dealing with this…"

"...They're probably shooting them in the head too. You saw how they were, they weren't doing nothing but growling like wild dogs"

Rick exhaled tiredly as he started for the door, "Alright, come on. We're officially on duty"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

"Where did daddy go?"

Michonne looked up from the bill she held in her hand, "He had to go check something out at the hospital, honey"

Judith groaned, throwing herself down on the couch, "My dress, mama! I need to get it and I need to try it on and I need-"

"He knows that Judith-"

"He's not even a doctor! What's he going to do up there?", The girl huffed, blowing one of her curls out of her face.

Michonne tried her best not to feed into her daughter's amateur dramatics, and chose to return her attention back to the sheet of paper in her hand, "That's right, sweetie"

"Mama, you're not even listening to me", Judith narrowed her eyes at her mother.

"He'll be back, so in the meantime, why don't you do something productive? Like cleaning your room?"

The girls face pinched, "My room is _always_ clean"

Michonne cringed, "Oh yeah… you're not like Carl."

"I'm literally right here", Carl announced dryly from the recliner, his face behind his phone screen, "It's like you people forget that I still live here"

"Bumba-bee!", Andre called out, holding out his stuffed toy to Judith.

"Yeah, it's a bumble bee, Andre", She nodded.

"Bumba-bee!", The toddler repeated, shaking the toy at her.

"Do the bumblebee sound, Judith", Michonne instructed, leaving the bill on the table in the hallway for Rick to find.

"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!", Judith sang whilst giving her brother an exaggerated smile, causing the little boy to giggle, bouncing on his toes.

Michonne retrieved her phone from the coffee table to record her children, when a call from Rick came through, "What's going on?"

"Is that daddy? Can I talk to him?", Judith quickly quizzed.

Michonne frowned at her daughter, "Hold on"

"Michonne, I need you to listen to me", Rick's voice was the most serious she ever heard it, "I need you guys to stay in the house, I don't want you going out at all, lock the doors, don't open it for anyone-"

"Tell me everything, right now", Michonne hissed, stepping out of the living room.

"This thang… it's got nothing to do with drugs, it's some kind of virus or somethan'... and people die from it but, they ain't really dead, well they are dead, but they're up and they're moving and they're trying to eat other-"

"What do you mean 'they ain't really dead'? What does that mean, Rick?"

"Michonne, I saw a man, eating a woman, and then the woman, she should have been dead but she was moving… everythan' that should have been inside of her, was on the damn floor and she was still moving"

Michonne's face was frozen in horror as she stared at the staircase, "Are you sure?"

"Am I- Am I _sure_?"

"Yes! It might have been something else happening-"

"What scenario could I have possibly walked in on, and mistaken it for a man eating a woman? Huh? Huh?! What, Michonne?!"

"I don't know! Maybe… maybe-"

"There's no maybe. If you saw someone eating someone else, you wouldn't think, 'Oh, maybe they're just playing some kind of kinky game' or 'Maybe she dropped somethan' and he's helping her pick it up'-"

"Don't you dare patronize me!-"

"I am not _patronizing_ you-"

"Yes, you are! You always do this when I try to offer a different viewpoint!-"

"This isn't about different viewpoints, Michonne! I saw a _man_ eating a _woman_! What other view is there?!"

"You're obviously in shock and that could obscure-"

"Why the hell are we even going into this! I am telling you, I saw a man, eat a woman, okay?! He was eating her and then she woke up, and she was crawling on her stomach and-and-...The people I saw at the hospital the other day were just like them, and there were at least thirty people getting rushed in, so this thang is spreading and I don't want any of you to leave that house, do you hear me? I want that door locked, Michonne"

"You're being serious, aren't you?"

"Oh my god", Her husband growled, "Yes! Yes, I'm being serious!"

She shook her head, trying to process the information that her husband was telling her, "So what happens now? What do we do? What's happening at the hospital?"

"We're heading up there now, we told everyone to go home and wait it out, because we don't even know where that man came from or how he ended up in the diner like that-"

"Did you kill him?"

"I had to kill them both, we shot the guy four times and it didn't do a damn thang, I had to shoot them in the head to stop them"

"Oh my god", She covered her mouth with her hand.

"Just don't leave the house-"

"My dad! I want my dad here! And your mom, Rick! They're probably at home alone and I don't want them-"

"Call your dad and my mom, tell them I'm coming by to get them after I'm done at the hospital, but make sure you tell them to stay put until I get there, alright?"

"Rick, I swear to God, don't touch anything you're not meant to-"

"I know-"

"Be careful-"

"I know, alright? I'm gonna call you if I hear anythan' else"

She nodded as if he could see her, "Okay, fine. Bye"

"Bye."

She hung up the phone, growing sick with worry, not entirely sure what to do next. She turned back to the living room, only to bump right into Carl, causing her to scream.

"What's going on?", The teen narrowed his eyes at her.

"Nothing… well, not nothing", She held her chest, waiting for her heartbeat to return to normal.

"It's that thing, right? What's going on at the hospital?"

She peeked behind him, checking on the younger children, "Yeah. It's… it's crazier than we thought"

"So what do we do?"

"Your father told us to stay inside. He thinks it's a virus that's spreading-"

"Why do you want Grandma and Grandpa here then?"

Michonne squinted at him when she realized he was listening to her conversation, "Because I just want them here. I don't know what's going on and-"

"Let's go then. Dad took his car, he left the SUV-"

"He said to stay inside, Carl"

"Do you think that I don't know what I'm doing?"

"You've been at the academy for two minutes-"

"Mom. Let's go. Well drive to grandma's, then grandpa's and come straight back here. We should do it now while it's still early. The streets won't be busy"

Michonne stared at him, weighing up her options in her mind.

"If you're waiting for dad to get back to do it then it could be a while. You know it could"

She groaned, looking towards the living room again. If things really were as serious as Rick had conveyed, She wanted her father and her mother in law with her as soon as possible, "Fine. We'll all go. Quickly"

Michonne stepped past him and into the room, holding her hands out to her son, "Okay, come on my little monster, we need to go make a little trip to Grandma's and Grandpas"

"What for?", Judith frowned.

"We need to bring them over here for a while, so come one, we need to get changed, now"

"Where's daddy?"

"He'll be back in a while too. We just need to get moving… Okay? Let's go"

…

"Are you going to tell me what this is about? Why did y'all feel the need to kidnap me from my home on a Saturday? I need to go by the market and get my sweet potatoes before that damn Mrs. Mabel gets all the good ones"

Michonne sniggered at her mother in law as she drove the vehicle to her father's, "We'll explain everything back at the house, but for now, Rick wants everyone in their homes while they sort out this… _thing_ "

"I heard about those people on drugs attacking people", The older woman shook her head disappointedly, "Let that be a lesson to you, Carl"

The teenager face crumbled as he looked back at his grandmother from the front seat, "Okay? But why?"

"Just in case you ever get any ideas. I want you to see one of them, so you know that that life isn't glamorous at all"

"...Okay, grandma", Carl sat back, still visibly confused.

Michonne bit back a chuckle, "Call your grandfather and tell him we're coming"

"Alright", Carl took out his phone from his jeans and quickly tapped at the screen, so the call was on the loudspeaker for Michonne to hear, "Grandpa?"

"Hey Carl, sorry can I call you back? I need to get Sharon to the hospital", Her father answered, sounding as if he was moving around his home.

"What's wrong?", Carl quizzed, sitting up straighter.

"It's Sharon, she's not been feeling too well and I been calling for an ambulance but nothing! They kept saying they're on their way but it's been hours now-"

"What happened to her dad?", Michonne tried to keep the panic out of her tone.

"We were leaving the hospital a few days ago to get her hip checked and some maniac knocked her down and attacked her"

Susan gasped from the backseat, while Michonne's eyes widened with alert, "Where is she? Is she in bed?"

"Nah, I'm going to put her in the car-"

"Dad we're coming to you now, we'll help"

"Where are you?"

"A block away", She informed hurriedly.

"Alright then".

"See you in a little while grandpa", Carl hung up the phone and looked at his mother, "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know… I really don't know…", Her grip on the steering wheel tightened as she pressed the accelerator, wanting to get to her father as fast as she could.

"I do hope Sharon's alright", Susan sighed from the back seat, peering at Andre in his car seat, who had his pacifier in his mouth as he gazed out the window.

They arrived outside her father's home, and Michonne glanced back over her shoulder after stopping in the middle of the street, "Me and Carl are going to get him, you guys wait here and don't get out of the car, okay?"

"Michonne, what is going on-"

"I will tell you, Susan. I promise I will. As soon as we get home"

The older woman eyed her suspiciously, "Fine"

"Can I come?", Judith piped up, finally surfacing from behind her mother's phone.

"Not this time, sweetie. Watch your brother though"

Judith pouted, sitting back in a huff.

Michonne and Carl exited the vehicle and power walked up to her father's front door, hoping that he and his girlfriend were fine. She pressed the doorbell and tried to peer through the glass window to see her father.

"What happens when you catch this virus?", Carl asked, his voice low.

"...You die… but you're not really dead. Your dad said they… eat people"

Carl's eyes bulged, "What? No way-"

The door opened, and Michonne's father appeared with tears in his eyes, "I think… I think she's…"

"What dad?", Michonne stepped closer to him, "Where is she?"

He stepped back, leading them into the home, "That damn ambulance, I've been calling them since the early hours of the morning and-and I said I'd bring her in but they refused, told me… told me they'd send someone over…"

Sharon was laying on the couch in the living room, with pale, damp skin, her were eyes closed and her chest barely moving. Michonne froze when she saw her, shocked at how frail the woman looked, "Dad… there's something going around and… what happened when she was attacked?"

Her father went over to his girlfriend, perching on the edge of the couch, "He jumped on her, trying to bite her face but I pulled him off, then some guards grabbed hold of him"

"...Grandpa, we need to go", Carl urged softly, "Dad wants us all back at the house. It's not safe"

Her father shook his head, "No. She needs a doctor. I need to get her to one, now. Just look at her, she's clinging to life"

Michonne stepped forward cautiously, "Does she have a rash or something? Did he bite her?"

"Nah, but she's got a nasty scratch on her arm, damn near turned black overnight"

"...Dad, Rick's over at the hospital now and I don't think there taking any more people if they told you to wait here-"

"She needs a doctor!", her father barked, "She can't go out like this!"

"Grandpa… look at her", Carl issued softly, joining his mother's side.

Donald looked down at his girlfriend, and his face fell with sadness. Sharon's chest had stopped moving, her mouth agape and her eyes staring off into the distance. He took her hand as he began to sob, and Michonne's heart ached for her father. She wished to move closer but fear stopped her from doing so, and she was sure Carl felt the same.

"Oh god, not you too, Sharon", Donald sniffed, tears rolling down his cheek, "Not you too, not like this"

"Dad… we'll take her to the hospital, okay?", Michonne moved near enough to rest her hand on his shoulder.

He nodded, stroking the dead woman's cheek with his hand, "Can you just give me a minute, please? Just, please?"

Michonne glanced at her son, then back to her father, "Yeah, sure, we'll be in the hallway"

Carl left the room first, huffing as he leaned against the front door, "That really sucks"

"It does", She dabbed the corners of her eyes with the back of her fingers, "It really does"

"...You think that scratch…"

"...I don't know. I really don't know what the hell is going on right now …", She leaned back against the wall, trying not to listen to her father's cries.

"...I'm sorry I never got you out of here sooner, honey. I'm so sorry… you've been the light of my life since my Genie left… and now you're gone too… I just can't take this. I can't have my heart broken twice… I just can't do it…"

She dropped her head back against the wall, feeling such sorrow for him, "We need to get her to the hospital"

"We need to keep an eye on her though… just in case", Carl reminded.

"I don't even know what we're looking out for… your dad said he saw… he saw a man eating a woman"

Her son stilled, thought his eyebrows still knitted together, "He saw that?"

"He did."

"...was he sure?"

"That's what I said and he started spluttering down the phone like I was wrong to ask such a thing… he seemed shaken up, like something wasn't right…"

Carl shifted uneasily, "God. This is crazy"

Michonne peaked in the living room, where her father steel kneeled beside his girlfriend's corpse. She spoke gently, "Dad? We'll get the car ready, okay? Maybe you should get a sheet for her, we can lay her down in the back..."

He nodded, wiping his nose with the back of his hand, "Alright honey, thank you"

Michonne led her son out the home after retrieving her father's car keys, trying to think of a way to explain to the other members of her family what was going on.

"I'll drive Grandpa's car?", Carl suggested.

"No, you ride behind us, I'll drive them", She sighed, approaching the older man's car.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, go on. Try to keep your grandmother and your sister calm, please? I know it's a lot to ask but-"

"Nah, I got it", Carl nodded, backing up to the SUV.

Michonne stayed vigilant as she waited, looking around the neighborhood. Hardly any cars drove by as she waited, and she only ever saw one or two curtains twitch as residents looked out their homes, which left Michonne feeling even more anxious to hurry her father.

The man appeared at the top of his porch, carrying Sharon in his arms. Her heart broke even further for him when she saw his cheeks streaked with tears. While she never allowed herself to get too close to Sharon, she still cried for the woman, who had grown to be a member of the family regardless. He descended the steps slowly, carefully, taking one at a time. It was when he reached the ground that he stopped, frowning at the body in his arms. He crouched down, laying her bottom half on the paving stones, so he had a hand free to pull the sheet from Sharon's face.

"Honey?", Her father quizzed, his eyes moving like a pinball all over her face.

"Dad? Dad, what's wrong?", Michonne started towards him.

"Can you hear me? Sharon-"

Michonne found herself frozen in place when she saw the woman in her father's arms reach up and grab hold of his shirt lapels, before leaning forward and sinking her teeth into his neck. A blood-curdling scream left Michonne as she ran over to him.

"Mom! Mom, stop!", Carl boomed, running over to join her.

Her father fell back, and Sharon mounted him, taking another bite out of his cheek, blood pouring from her mouth. Michonne could only shove the woman off her father, and she grabbed her father's arm, tugging him to stand. Carl appeared on the other side of him, putting his arm around his shoulder and carrying him to the SUV.

"Grandpa?!", Judith cried, climbing into the back seat to make room for the man.

"Oh my god! Donald!", Susan helped them pull the man into the car, his blood spewing in every direction.

"Mama! Look!", Judith cried out again, pointing towards the house, where Sharon was finding her footing.

"Get in, Mom!", Carl urged, and Michonne climbed in the back with her father, while Sharon moved to the front. Her son ran around to the front of the vehicle and sat in the driver's seat.

"Oh my god", Tears fell from Michonne's eyes as she used her hand to cover her father's wound, "Dad? Dad?"

All her father could do was groan, his head bobbing as the car moved. Andre stuck his head forward to look at his grandfather, holding his little hand out for the man to take.

"It's okay, dad? Look at me, dad? It's okay, we're getting you to a hospital", Her hands shook violently, but Michonne was determined to hold him.

"Oh god", Susan panted from the front seat, "I'll call Rick"

Michonne's eyes didn't leave her father, and when the man moved to take Andre's hand, she felt only the smallest amount of relief, "Dad? Can you hear me?"

She wasn't sure if he was nodding or if it was the movement of the car.

"Rick! Oh my God, son where are you?...", Susan's own bloody hand trembled as she held the phone to her ear, "Donald- he's hurt, Sharon she-she attacked him, he's bleeding- ...were on our way to the hospital- ...were all here…yes, the kids too- Rick? What?..."

"Dad?", Michonne called for her father for a countless time, her voice cracking with emotion, "Dad, can you hear me?"

"What? What do you-... We're close, Carl's driving through red lights… okay, okay, bye son"

"What did he say?", Carl urged, peeking in the rear view mirror occasionally.

"Uh… he-uh… we… we just need to get Donald to a doctor as soon as possible"

"Mama? Is he alright?", Judith was sat forward in the very back seat, watching her grandfather with wide eyes.

Michonne bit her lips together as she nodded, "Yeah, sweetie, put your seatbelt on please"

"Oh my, God"

She finally tore her eyes away from her father, to see why her mother in law had gasped, and to Michonne's surprise, the hospital was in complete disarray. Doctors and nurses were running around with armed military personnel, with pop up tents sprinkled throughout the parking lot. Wounded patients were being wheeled in from every angle, bleeding heavily and close to death.

"Mom, I can't go further, we need to get him out here", Carl looked back at her.

"Okay, okay, come on, Susan, wait here with the kids please?", Michonne took her father's arms as she opened the door.

"Yeah, of course, go on", Susan urged, turning in her seat to put her hand on Donald's knee, "I'm praying for you, okay? My prayers are with you"

Carl ran around the car to help his mother, pulling the nearly unconscious man from the vehicle. Michonne didn't know where she was taking him, but she was looking for the nearest doctor to help him.

"Mom, look! It's Spencer! Spencer!", Carl yelled, waving his free hand to get the man's attention.

Spencer's scrubs were drenched in blood, and the man looked over with wide eyes, "Shit"

"He was bitten on the neck", Michonne explained when he was close enough, "You have to help him"

"Oh god", Spencer breathed, looking at her father's wound, "Alright, hold on… we have a bite! A bite! Not dead!"

"A bite?", A woman called back, and two heavily clad men ran over to them. The men quickly took Donald by both arms, and broke into a sprint, carrying him through the crowd, his feet dragging along the floor.

"Where are they taking him?", Michonne demanded, trying to follow them, but Spencer stuck his hand out to stop her.

"I need you to go home, take your son and leave", Spencer insisted.

"Let me see where they're taking him first-"

"Michonne, please!", Spencer stressed, looking to Carl, "You both need to get home right now, just leave the area now"

"What's going to happen to him?! Tell me, now!"

"Spencer! I need you here!", A voice yelled from the crowd.

"Alright!", Spencer yelled back, before lowering his voice, "Look, you need to go home because the people here are dying, a bite, a scratch by the infected means death, and then you come back infected, so you're not safe here, I'm not even safe here, so you need to leave now"

Michonne looked at him again with panicked eyes, "Are they going to kill my dad?"

Spencer huffed, wearing a distressed expression, "They probably already have"

"What?", Michonne's heart beat wildly in her chest, "No, no!-"

"Michonne! No!", Spencer grabbed her arm to stop her from marching past him.

"Get off of her!", Carl barked, shoving Spencer with both hands so he fell to the floor.

Michonne tried to go further but a large man stood in front of her, his gun held against his chest, "Stop right there, mam! If you are uninjured and have a clean bill of health then I am going to have to ask you to leave the area, immediately!"

"Michonne, please", Spencer nearly begged, as he stood up, "She's fine, she's just upset-"

"I want to see my father", She ordered, paying no attention to the gun in the man's hands.

"That is not an option and this is no longer a request, leave the facility now!"

"Mom", Carl was at her side, "This is serious, we need to get out of here-"

"Mam! You have five seconds to move or else-"

"Or else _what_!?", Rick's throaty voice carried over Michonne's shoulder.

"Or else I will escort her off the premises-"

"You touch her and you'll be on one of those fucking stretchers!", Her husband roared, staring the man down as he planted himself in front of Michonne, lowering his tone when he spoke to her, "We need to go, alright?"

"My dad, Rick. My dad", She pleaded, clinging to his shirt, "Sharon bit him and S-Spencer said they were going to-"

"I know, I know", Rick held her arms tight, "But we got the kids in the car, and we need to go. I met a man here that's going to keep us up to date with what's happening, okay? But now, we need to move, we need to get the kids somewhere safe"

She looked past Rick again, feeling completely helpless. Her eyes darted from one injured person to another, the air thick with the smell of blood. It made her stomach churn. She didn't want to leave her father, but she knew she was in the midst of something dangerous, "O-okay"

"Alright. Carl, come on. Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

 _'I'm gonna' need your help'_

Rick slowly paced the hallway, his mind replaying everything he had seen over the last few hours. He could barely believe it, but he didn't have time to sit around and question it further. His only concern was keeping his family safe, but for the moment, he wasn't sure where 'safe' was.

He heard a little sneeze from the living area, and he glanced in the room, where Andre was sat on his grandmother's lap, watching the TV with his pacifier in his mouth. Carl and Judith weren't far from them, with Judith nestled under her brother's arm, tears still rolling down her face. They were all crying when Rick glanced again, all but Andre, and they all said nothing as they sat in shock.

While Rick didn't see the damage done to his father in law, he could easily imagine how horrific it was. To know the man would die in such a way left Rick feeling haunted, and at a loss for words.

He heard a thud come from the second floor of the home, and Rick decided it was time to check on his wife. She went straight upstairs when they arrived home, still sobbing for her father. As much as Rick wanted to follow her, he knew that he had to be on high alert, especially as the 'virus' was closer than he expected.

Michonne was in the bedroom, sat at her vanity table, still in her bloodied clothes, her locks on the floor around her. Rick froze at the sight, his heart sinking. Her dreads were secretly one of his favourite features about her, and the longer they grew, the more he loved to see them fall against her back. But that was no more. They stopped at her shoulders, swinging freely as she moved.

He stepped in the room and left the door ajar, his eyes on the dead hair on the floor. He spoke softly, "Michonne…"

She didn't answer him initially, instead she leaned forward and tied her hair in a bun.

"Mich-"

"Is Andre still awake?", She questioned, standing up.

Rick watched her for a second, "He is"

"I need to feed him", She sighed, crouching down and grabbing the hair off the floor.

He slowly inhaled, "Why?"

"Because he needs to eat", She glanced at him strangely.

"You know what I mean"

She sniffed, shaking her head, "Because they needed to go"

"Like this? At a time like this?"

"Better now than later", She shrugged, standing up again.

He rubbed his thumb and index finger together, his mind still racing, "I'm sorry about your dad"

Her steps faltered ever so slightly as she inched past him, but she tried to continue on like he hadn't said anything, so Rick took hold of her arm.

"Can you stop for a minute, please?", He pleaded, his tone still gentle but airing on the edge of firm.

"No. We don't have time for that", She shook her head, looking elsewhere in the room.

"We always make time for thangs like this", He urged, turning her to face him, "I mean it. Your dad didn't deserve that, and I'm sorry I wasn't there to save him"

She snapped her eyes shut as she shook her head, "Don't. Please"

It pained him to see her so hurt. He couldn't imagine how she felt to have both parents gone, let alone to lose one in such a way. He cupped her face as he placed a soft kiss on her jaw, "It's alright"

"Dad! Uncle Daryl's on the phone!", Carl called from the bottom of the stairs.

Rick followed Michonne's out of their bedroom and down the stairs. He noticed the way his son's eyes widened slightly at the sight of his mother, just as shocked as Rick was to see the change. He took the phone from Carl and headed to the kitchen, "What's going on?"

"You hear anythan'?", Daryl rasped.

"Nothing yet… But I'm not so sure if we should stick around to wait and see either…"

"Yeah?"

"You heard what that guy said, thangs are worse in the city and it's going to worse here. Every news channel is down so this obviously going on everywhere else. I think we need to start looking for somewhere to go. Somewhere quieter"

"Where are you thinking?"

Rick stopped by the kitchen sink as he looked out the window, "I don't even know yet… I say we give it one more night, tomorrow we go check out the hospital, bright and early… see what's happening there, but just in case, get everything you need packed up and ready to go. Call everybody you can, let them know"

"...Yeah. Alright"

"I'll call if I hear anythan'."

"Got it"

Rick hung up the phone just as the doorbell rang, and he raced to see who it could be. Carl kept his hand on the doorknob, waiting for his father to appear, and Rick gave him a nod, signalling for him to open it.

"I heard, I'm here", Andrea panted, stepping into the home with an overnight bag on her shoulder.

Rick breathed a sigh of relief, "You see anythan' when you was coming up here?"

"It's fucking mayhem in town!", She hissed, dropping her bag to the floor, "Everyone is breaking into stores! Why aren't you out there?"

He pinched his nose bridge, "We haven't heard anythan', I told everyone at the department to go home and stay there"

"What? Why? Because a couple of druggies have gone lose?"

"They're not on drugs. They're eating people", Carl informed, "Sharon died, and came back to life and attacked grandpa"

Andrea's eyes widened, "Wait, what? Donald? Is he okay?"

Rick huffed, dragging his hand over his face as he looked in the living area. Michonne held a sleeping Andre in her arms as she peered through the curtains, while Judith and Rick's mother looked over at the other adults with concern.

He turned back towards the kitchen, leaving Carl to break the news to Andrea about his father in law. He retrieved his gun from on top of the kitchen cabinet, tucking it in his waistband, then grabbed the phone off the counter again.

"Listen, new plan, we need to get everyone together, under one roof. It's safer."

Daryl gruffed, "Alright. Got it"

The only thing Rick could think to do was to gather all his loved ones. He would rather they were all in arm's length while he figured out what to do next.

"Listen, I'm gonna get Daryl… Maggie, Glenn… bring 'em back here", Rick announced to his family, "It's safer, we can wait this out here if need be"

"I'm coming with you", Carl insisted, starting towards him.

"Is that really the best idea right now?", His mother quizzed, her eyes wide with panics, "You already told everyone to stay in their homes-"

"I know, and they should, but you saw what was going on at the hospital… thangs might get out of hand before they get better"

"Can I come?", Judith asked, straightening up in her seat.

"No", Rick shook his head, "No. I need you here, sweetie"

The girl's shoulders fell.

"Andrea, I need you to call them, let them know we're coming to get them so they should be ready"

The blonde nodded as she was stood beside his wife, rubbing her back. Michonne only glanced at Rick for a quick second, giving him a quick nod.

"Alright", He looked at his eldest son, "Let's go"

…

"Mom cut her hair…"

Rick peaked in the rear view mirror at Daryl's car, making sure his friend and his family were still following them, "Yeah. She did"

Carl peered out the windshield, "...I have a feeling this won't just blow over, dad…"

"I don't think so either, which is why we need to be prepared for the worst", Rick huffed, driving easily through the empty residential streets, "We might need to go by the police department…"

"What for?"

"The gun locker"

Carl looked at his father, "You think we'll need them?"

"I think we should take what we can get right now. Hopefully we won't even have to use them"

"Mom said you had to shoot them?"

"Yeah. In the head. It's the only way they went down"

His son was silent for a moment, "So if grandpa… if that happened to him, that's what they would have done to him?"

Rick tensed, his hand gripping the steering wheel, "I hate to think they did…"

"...Sharon's still alive. Well… we left her"

He glanced at Carl, slowly nodding as he thought about it, "...Yeah."

They arrived outside of Glenn and Maggie's home, where Rick gave a quick honk of his horn. Moments later Glenn appeared, running to his own car with bags on his shoulder. Maggie stepped out the home, holding hands Cleo while carrying Demi, while Ally ran out in front of them.

The little girl stopped on the lawn, and waved excitedly, "Hi Carl!"

"Hey Ally!", Carl called back quietly, "Go on, get in the car, I'll see you in a little while"

"Okay!", Ally did as she was told, running over to join her family.

Rick eyes scanned the neighbourhood closely, looking out for any signs of danger. Lights were on in a few homes, but otherwise, most driveways were bare. He assumed people had either left, or they were taking part in looting the town's stores.

A scream belted out from somewhere nearby, and Rick quickly got out of the car with his gun in hand.

"You hear that?", Daryl called, stepping out of his own vehicle.

"Yeah", Rick nodded, turning around as he tried to see where the cry came from.

"We need to get out of here!", Glenn ordered, closing the back door of his car.

Rick looked around for a time, hoping it wasn't someone in danger, before reluctantly agreeing, "Alright, let's-"

"Dad! Look!", Carl climbed out the car and pointed further down the street.

Rick squinted, trying to see what caught his son's attentions, and he soon caught on. Two bodies were crouched over a third on the front porch, several houses down, and Rick didn't need to look any longer to know what was happening, "Get in the car. Now!"

An uneasy feeling was growing in the pit of Rick's stomach. Years on the police force hadn't trained him for such a scenario, but he was determined to come out on top by using what he knew, and common sense, of course.

"Call your Uncle", Rick instructed, peering over at his son, "Tell him we're going to the department now"

"Alright"

The closer they got to the police department, the more people they saw, darting in every direction in panic, diving in and out of stores, then filling their vehicles with stolen goods. Rick didn't want to risk drawing attention to themselves, so he drove around to the back of the department.

He learnt that we wasn't the only one with the idea to retrieve guns, as he, Carl and Daryl bumped into Leon by the back doors.

"We need to be quick. Thangs are getting out of hand", Leon huffed, shoving open the back door.

Daryl nudged Rick before the followed him, tipping his head towards Leon. Rick looked at the other man, and saw he had blood on the back of his dark blue uniform shirt. They both shared a concerned expression, but still stepped into the building.

"Everythan's falling to pieces. I called the boy's over in Macon and got nothing", Leon explained as they walked down the hall, "I think everyone's racing to get out of town since the hospital went to shit"

"What?", Rick frowned, still eyeing the man's back to see whether the blood was his own or someone else's.

"Yeah! The army boys left. Just upped and left-"

"We were just there a couple hours ago", Daryl gruffed from behind.

"It went down an hour ago. Melanie called me, remember she's a nurse over there. Said too many people were coming in, all 'em with that virus", They reached the gun locker, where Leon used his keys to open the door, "They're just killing them all with a head shot"

Rick and Carl both shared a sad glance as Leon confirmed their suspicions about Donald's fate.

"So what happened to you, man?", Daryl quizzed Leon.

The other man instinctively touched his shoulder, "Son of a bitch bit me when I was coming out of here earlier"

All eyes widened as Rick spoke, "You were bit?"

"Yeah", Leon nodded, grabbing a gun.

Carl looked to his father first, "Dad…"

"Don't worry. I know. Melanie told me. There ain't no coming back from it"

Rick stared at the man closely, "...So what-"

"I got a while before it kills me. I'm gonna head over to the Melanie's… say goodbye to her… then stay behind and help who I can"

Sorrow washed over Rick, and he found himself looking around the cage aimlessly, "Don't write yourself off just yet, there might be a cure or somethan'-"

"I probably won't be around long enough", Leon shook his head, shoving his gun in his holster, "It's fine. I think I had a good run… I even left my lunch in the squad car for you boys to clean up"

The man's joke didn't have the desired effect. Rick released a long, unsteady breath, while Daryl shifted behind him. Carl kept his head bowed, his gaze on his boots.

"Listen, you need to do what everyone else is doing, and get the hell out of here", Leon patted Rick on the shoulder as he inched past him, stopping for a brief moment, "It was great working with you boys. Send your families my love"

Rick nodded, inhaling slowly, "Yeah. You too."

"Take care of yourself", Daryl rasped, shaking Leon's hand when he was close enough.

"Yep. Carl", Leon gave the teen a smile and nod, before exiting the locker.

No one moved for a moment after the other officer left. It was as if they were all swallowing their second dose of their new reality.

Daryl cleared his throat, speaking first, "Let's get this show on the road".

…

Rick's hands stroked up and down his wife's back as they lay on the couch in the living room, his fingers disappearing beneath her shirt, which she refused to change, so her father's blood had long dried. There legs were intertwined, her head on his chest, his other hand holding hers.

His mother was asleep in their bed with Andre and Judith, while Maggie took Carl's room with her daughters, Sasha, Lily and Andrea in Judith's room. Rick had argued that both Carl and Judith didn't need double beds, but they came in useful that night. Daryl and Glenn wide awake and in the kitchen, too anxious to sleep, and Carl slept in the recliner opposite his parents. Having all his loved ones under one roof brought Rick only some relief, but the noise coming from outside the home reminded him otherwise.

The occasional gun would go off, sometimes screams followed, a car or two speeding down the street. He stopped peering out the window after hearing it all so often. They kept the lights off and the doors locked, and moved around quietly, hoping it would be enough for the night.

"We can't stay here…", Michonne whispered.

"We won't. We'll leave in the morning… Maggie said we should go to her father's farm. It's rural. Hardly anyone up there", Rick replied just as quietly.

She nodded against his chest.

"...I'm gonna need your help here, Michonne", He confessed, "I'm taking the lead on thangs… I don't know everybody wants me to but… I am. And if that's the case then I can't do it alone. I need you right up front with me"

She gave his hand a little squeeze, "I know. I'm here. I wouldn't be anywhere else"

He relaxed to some degree, "So the farm?"

"The farm", She affirmed.

"Alright".

Light footsteps came up the hallway, and Glenn appeared narrowing his eyes as he looked in the room, only lit by the moonlight pouring through the window, "You guys okay?"

"Yeah. What's wrong?", Rick queried.

"Nothing. Just checking in on everyone"

Rick nodded, watching him turn and head towards the staircase. Another gunshot was heard, causing him to look towards the window, as this sound was closer than the others. Michonne lifted her head, but Rick held her, "Wait. Listen"

They both stared into the darkness as they waited for any further noise, and when they heard the sound of a car pulling away, they both eased back down into their previous positions.

"They probably got away", Rick sighed.

"I hope so…", Michonne responded softly, "...I hope Leon's okay"

Rick felt sick to his stomach again, "Me too."

"...If anything happens to-"

"Don't. If you're about to say what I think you're about to say, then don't. I don't ever wanna' hear those words come out your mouth, alright?"

She exhaled against him, her thumb stroking over his.

"I just told you I need you, and you said you're here"

"I am"

"Good", He tipped his head and kissed the top of hers.

It was only seconds after he spoke that a loud booming sound could be heard in the distance. Carl jumped up in the recliner, his head whipping left and right. Rick and Michonne untangled themselves, heading towards the window. Three air force planes sawed over the town, heading away from a bright orange glow that lit up the sky.

"They blew somethan' up", Rick breathed, using the faint light to look around the rest of the street. Another loud bang went off, and three more planes flew past, "In the city…"

"...Do you think we're next?", Carl's tone had a hint of worry to it..

Rick shook his head, "We won't to stick around to find out"

Michonne turned away from the window, "We won't".

…

"What's going on, Daddy?"

Rick stopped in the hallway when Judith appeared at her bedroom door, "I'm gonna' tell you everythan' as soon as we're packed up and in the car-"

"I'm saw what Sharon did to Grandpa. I know somethings going on and you're not telling me", The girl pushed, crossing her arms over her chest, "You're sneaking around and mama doesn't like that. You're not meant to sneak around"

Rick had always known his daughter's attitude was near enough identical to her mother's, but the older she got, the less cute it became, "Judith, what did I just say?"

She stared at him with eyes that mirrored his.

Rick took in a calming breath, "Judith, what did I just-"

"You said ' _I'm gonna' tell you everythan' as soon as we're packed up and in the car_ '...", She mimicked, perfecting her father's southern twang in the process.

He almost glared at his daughter as he pointed at her, "You better leave that attitude here. I mean it, young lady. Get your stuff, and get down stairs. Wait with your brother. Now"

Speaking to Judith sternly wasn't something Rick did often. He could probably count how many times he had done so in recent weeks, but when he did, the girl hated it more than anything. There was always a flash of sadness in her eyes before she returned to be angry at him, and Rick witnessed that range of emotion before she spun on her heel and disappeared in her room.

With everything going on, he didn't have the time to battle with her, but he still made a mental note to make up with her later.

He stepped into their bedroom, where Michonne was slinging a duffle bag over her shoulder, "That daughter of yours-"

"She's only ever 'my daughter' when she's done something to upset you", She quickly countered, raising an eyebrow at him, "So both of you cut it out and hurry up"

He eyed his wife, "I'm done, I'm waiting on you"

"Then why are you up here?"

"To see what's taking you so long-"

"Well I'm done, so let's go"

He took in another calming breath as he took the bag from her, "Go"

They stepped back onto the landing, just as Carl was making his way down the stairs, and Michonne stopped in Judith's doorway, "Come on honey, we gotta go"

"Coming mama", The girl appeared, holding a blue pillow under one arm, and her black and gold backpack in the other. She gave Rick the swiftest side eyed as she started down the stairs.

He hissed to his wife, "You see that? She gets that from you"

Michonne sent him the look that told him that she had no patience left, and Rick found himself taking another calming breath, wondering if breathing in such a way actually helped.

"We all set?", Maggie asked, stepping out the living area with Demi on her hip, the little girl nibbling on an apple slice.

"Yeah, we'll start getting things out in the cars", Michonne replied, looking over all the bags that filled the hallway.

"I told daddy that were on our way… I still need to talk to him… he doesn't really get what's going on…"

Michonne slowly nodded, taking her words into consideration, "Well we'll be there to help"

"You get the girls ready, we'll call you when it's time to go", Rick issued, peering down the hallway for the other men.

"Alright", Maggie turned back to the room, we're Lily and Judith weren't sat in the recliner, with Ally, Cleo and Andre on the floor in front of them.

"What are you doing?", Rick quizzed his wife when he noticed her grabbing bags.

She looked at him strangely, "Taking bags?"

"...Go call Glenn and Daryl. And Carl. They can help"

She stood up straight, "And so can I?"

He hesitated, "Well let me check it out first-"

"Wait…", She narrowed her eyes at him, her shoulders rolling back, preparing her argument, "So when we agreed that I'd be up front with you, you meant I can be up front but slightly behind you?"

His face crumbled with confusion, "What?"

"You're the big strong man and I'm just the dainty, little quiet housewife that sits in the back and waits on his return-"

He snorted at her, "I would never call you quiet. And if you turn around I'll show you the part of you that ain't little"

She tilted her head at him, "If I'm up front with you, then we both go out together, we do this together, and we can examine your sexist side later-"

"Sexist, huh? It's got nothing to do with the fact that you're my wife, and I love you, and I want you to be safe?", He questioned, dryly.

She pulled a face as she mimicked him, " _You're my wife and I love you and I want you to be safe_ "

"You see that? You see what you did just there? My daughter did the exact same thang just a few minutes ago-"

"Oh my god", Carl groaned as he joined them in the hallway, followed by Glenn and Daryl, "Can you two argue later? Please?"

Michonne sent Rick one last snarl before resting her hand on the doorknob, "Ready when you are"

He fought the urge to roll his eyes as he grabbed another duffle bag from the floor, "Alright. Let's go"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

 _'I need her to be fine'_

"Mommy, bumba-bee!"

Michonne glanced at her son in his car seat in the rear view mirror, "Judith where's Andre's bumble bee?"

"I saw her bring it out of the house…", Susan explained, looking back from the passenger seat.

"Judith?"

Her daughter was sat with her headphones on, staring out the window, oblivious to her mother's calls, until she saw her grandmother waving her hand. She sat up and looked at them with wide eyes, "Huh?"

"Andre's bumble bee?", Michonne repeated.

Judith looked to her brother as she unfastened her seatbelt, beginning to look around when she stopped, starting to cringe, "Oh… I left it in the other car. I thought we were going in that one"

"Bumba-bee!", Andre demanded, still expecting to see the his soft toy appear.

"Sorry Andre, it's not here-"

"Bumba-bee! Bumba-bee!"

"It's not here! We're going to get it when we get to the farm-"

A high pitched scream left the toddler, his arms and legs flailing as he threw himself into a tantrum.

"Oh baby! Don't you cry like that! We're going to get your bumble bee! Daddy's just looking after it!", Susan reassured, taking her seat belt off to reach back and stroke the little boys legs, "We're going to get your bumble! I promise!"

Andre's eyes were still wet with tears as he calmed, pouting sadly, "Bee!"

"Yes, bee! We'll get Bee for you, alright?", Susan only sat back in the seat when she was sure the boy wouldn't scream again, "He's like his father at age. Rick used to behave the exact same way"

Michonne side eyed her mother in law, "I don't have a problem believing that"

Susan sniggered, glancing in the backseat before lowering her voice, "How are you feeling?"

Michonne held the steering wheel a little tighter, "Fine. I'm fine"

"Oh no. I don't think that's the case at all, and that's alright, you know? I know with everythan' going on right now you might feel like you have to suck it up and keep it moving… and I mean you do need to keep it moving because you have a family to look after, but you don't have to hide how you're feeling along the way", Susan's tone was soft, but still stern, "Losing both your parents is… it's a strange feeling, because it just leaves you with a certain kind of loneliness. Even though you have your own family around you… it still feels like you've just lost some parts of you that you forget are there. It's a horrible pain for anyone to go through, so don't feel as though you can't let us know you're hurting because we understand"

Her mother in law always had a way of soothing Michonne, while reducing her to tears in the same instance. She sniffed, signalling that she heard her message, "Thank you, Susan"

"You are more than welcome my dear", The older woman sighed, looking out at the fields that surrounded them, "...I called Jeffrey before we left by the way…"

"Oh? Where is he?"

"...They're driving down here to meet us"

Michonne's eyes widened slightly, "Really?"

Susan gave her a no nonsense look, "I know exactly what you're thinking, I do, because I'm thinking it too, but they're still family and we won't turn them away. We can't"

"I know we can't but Carl won't-"

"Carl won't like it. It may still even hurt him, but he's not a hot head-", Susan cut her sentence short when she saw the look Michonne sent her, "He is not! He just gets a little upset, and he only lashes out when you poke and prod him. He won't like it, but they need to be here just as much as _he_ does, and he needs to understand that"

Michonne huffed, already thinking of her son's reaction to the other side of the family, "I know… I'll talk to him… or maybe Rick should, since they're so close now"

Susan snorted, "Carl was stuck to you for years and years-"

"And now he's just thrown me aside"

"He has not. He's older now, and he's needed his father's help a lot because of the academy and settling in-"

"He doesn't even call me. He calls just calls Rick", Michonne countered, her eyes wide with disbelief, "He didn't even want me to come along with him to get set up-"

"Because he doesn't like seeing you cry"

She softened, knowing her mother in law was right, "I know. It's Rick's fault"

"It is.", Susan gave a little chuckle, before lowering her voice again, "You think we'll be able to go back?"

"To town?", Michonne visibly cringed as she thought about it, "I don't know… I can only imagine the state that the city's in…"

"...I wanted a picture. My wedding photo. I wish I took it"

She glanced at her mother in law again, "...We might be able to get it? When everything calms down?"

"Hopefully. I don't really care about anything else. I've never been one for materials… but that… that's somethan' I'd like to hold on to for as long as I can…"

"I understand", Michonne looked out the windshield sadly, about to find some comforting words for her mother in law, when she noticed a large truck coming towards them at full speed in the middle of the road, "What on earth-"

Everything after that moment seemed to happen in slow motion. Rick's vehicle swerved to the right hand side, and Michonne swerved to left, but the truck still managed to hit the rear end of her car, sending the vehicle spinning off the road, and flipping over into a ditch.

When she opened her eyes she was still dangling in her seat, pain shooting through her arm. She began to panic when she heard Andre's cry, "Hold on baby! Judith?! Susan?!"

"I'm here, hold on", Susan was trying to move from her awkward position on the roof of the car, "Judith! Sweetie can you hear me-"

Michonne unfastened her seatbelt, landing on her arm on the roof of the car. She looked in the back seat and saw her daughter crumbled in a heap, "Judith!"

"The doors stuck!", Daryl yelled from outside the vehicle, while Glenn managed to open the passenger door open for Susan.

Michonne tried crawled to the back of the vehicle, freeing her son from his car seat, "Okay, hold on-"

The back door creaked open, and Rick appeared, his eyes darting all over the place, "Come on"

"Judith!", She called, leaning back so he could see her.

Rick's face fell, and he only stilled for a second, before taking hold of his wife, repeating, "Come on"

She slid out the car clutching Andre with her good arm, and as soon as they were out, Rick was in, and Michonne heard him muttering to himself, "No… no, oh no"

"Are you alright?", Sasha planted herself in front of her, but Michonne was too busy trying to see inside the car.

"Fine, but Judith-", She panted, adjusting her hold on Andre.

"Give him here, mom", Carl's hands were soon around the toddler, prying him from her.

Her husband pulled a listless Judith out, one side of her face covered in gashes, her limbs swinging freely.

Michonne's knees grew weak at the sight of her, and she smoothed her daughter's curls from her face, "Oh my god-"

"We need to get her to a doctor or something", Sasha prompted.

"There ain't none", Daryl countered, "Everybody probably left-"

"Hershel!", Glenn announced, holding Susan's arm around his shoulder as she struggled to stand, "He can help! You go ahead, we'll follow"

Rick hoisted Judith into his arms and began running with her, and Michonne was right behind him, her heart racing in her chest. As soon as they were close enough to his truck, Michonne ordered, "Get in the back!"

She jumped through the passenger side to get to the driver's seat, while Rick climbed in with Judith. Carl sat in the front seat beside his mother, cradling a dazed Andre.

Michonne couldn't remember a time when she drove so recklessly, which was a poor choice in her state, but she felt as if she didn't have time to waste. The thought of losing anyone else, especially her child, would be the breaking of her.

She glanced in the rear-view mirror, "How is she?"

Rick's eyes hadn't left Judith's face, his hand cupping her cheek as he held her against him. He managed to choke out, "I don't know"

Michonne took a hard right onto the Greene's farm when she saw the driveway, speeding up to the front of the house, where Patricia was sat on the porch. She jumped up when she saw them, calling back into the house, "Hershel!"

Michonne opened the back door once she was out the car, and Rick shot out with lighting speed, "Hershel!"

"What happened?", Patricia gasped, meeting on the steps.

"We got into a car accident", Michonne informed hurriedly.

The grey haired man appeared, his eyes widening at the sight of her, placing two fingers on her throat, "She bang her head?"

"I don't think she was wearing her seat belt"

He used his thumb to lift her eyelid, cupping her face with his other hand, "Her pupils are dilated, possible concussion-"

"Help her, please", Rick pleaded desperately with glistening eyes.

"Bring her in", Hershel ordered, turning back to the door.

Michonne wasn't sure what she was expecting for Hershel to do, as the man was only a vet, but with the nearest hospital too far, and out of bounds, all her hopes rested on her friend's father.

Judith was laid out on a bed as Hershel got to work, shooting out orders to Patricia and Beth, when the young girl appeared. Michonne watched helplessly from the side, while Rick paced back and forth on the other side of the room.

When she heard her daughter cough she perked up, stepping closer to see her, "Is she awake?!"

"She's coughing up blood", Hershel announced, "Turn her on her side"

"What? What-"

"Carl! Take your parents out of here!"

"Mom", Carl used the hand that wasn't holding Andre to tug her back, "Come on, dad"

"You can wait in the other room", Beth offered, blocking Michonne's view, "Come on, I'll come with you. Daddy knows what he's doing"

If it hadn't been for Carl tugging her, Michonne wouldn't have moved. She backed out of the room, while Beth got to work on leading Rick away.

…

"She was mad at me. She wanted me to talk to her, and I didn't. I shouldn't have talked to her to her the way I did. That hurt her, and I know it did"

Michonne stared at the wall in front of them as they sat on the floor, "Hershel's doing what he can"

Rick raked his fingers through his hair, "I know. I know he is"

"She'll be fine. She won't be mad at you", Michonne assured lightly, turning her head a fraction to look at him.

His eyes were glazed over, his damp hair stuck to his head, "I need her to be fine"

Andre stepped into the hallway with his pacifier in his mouth, carrying his stuffed toy. Carl walked protectively behind him, as if he was scared the boy would fall.

"Juice!", Andre announced, turning to look at his brother.

"No more juice, Andre. You're going to burst", Carl shook his head at him.

Andre looked to Michonne, and quickly scurried over to her, "Mommy, juice?"

She looked up at Carl, "He can have water in a little while"

"He drank a lot in there", Carl huffed, taking a seat on the floor opposite his parents, his arm still bandaged from giving blood. Andre climbed over Michonne, and instead sat on his father, resting his head on his chest.

They all sat silently as they waited, listening to the others moving around on the other side of the house. She could only wonder how they were sorting out the sleeping arrangements, and she honestly didn't care where she slept, she would have been content sleeping on the hardwood floors.

When the door finally opened, they jumped up to their feet, looking at Herschel with anticipation.

"I managed to stop the bleeding, she's no longer coughing up blood. I'm sure she's fractured a few ribs but it's hard to tell how many with just my eyes", Hershel shifted his stance, "They'll heal up on their own with proper care, but she's going to be in a lot of pain, and she's may need medication that I don't have here, in case of infection-"

"What do you need?", Rick prompted, stepping closer, "Tell me and I'll go get it"

"I'll go too", Carl offered.

"No. No. You stay here", Michonne issued.

"But-"

"Your mother's right. If her pressure drops again then she might need more blood, and you're a match", Hershel agreed.

"So what is it? We'll go right now", Rick was already handing Andre over to Carl, "We can head back to the hospital, they're probably still stocked"

"You're going to the hospital?", Maggie hovered in the doorway, bouncing Demi on her hip, "Didn't you say things were bad there?"

"We haven't got a choice, we need to check it out"

Maggie's green gaze bounced between them all, before she huffed, turning her head to call over her shoulder, "Glenn! Get out here!"

"I'll make a list", Herschel stepped past them, allowing Michonne and Rick to enter the makeshift infirmary.

Her husband went on his knees beside the bed, while Michonne took a seat, stroking Judith's legs. Her hair was splayed out on the pillow around her head, her mouth agape, and slightly bloodstained. Michonne leaned forward to fetch a tissue out of her back pocket, and dabbed it on her tongue before cleaning the area, muttering to herself, "She'd hate me for doing this"

Rick held Judith hands between his, placing a kiss on her knuckles.

Michonne slowly inhaled, "We need to hurry. I don't want her to wake up in pain"

"Me neither"

She didn't have any idea what they were about to walk into, but as far as she was concerned, they didn't have any other choice. With Hershel's list in hand, Michonne, Rick, Glenn, Daryl and Andrea set off, back into town.

Daryl took the wheel this time around, as Rick gave a quick tutorial on gun use to the other three. Michonne never thought the day would come that it would be necessary she had a weapon, and knew how to use it, but times were changing, and so was she.

"How do you know if someone is infected? What if there just-"

Rick glanced back at Andrea, "If they're not responsive, have a kind of cloudy look in their eyes and-"

"They're trying to grab a hold of you, then you shoot 'em", Daryl finished bluntly.

Rick slowly nodded, "Yeah"

"Got it", Andrea sat back with a huff, "I need to call Shane and see where he is"

Michonne's eyebrows shot up, "You spoke to him? When?"

"Before I came to you. He was on his way to get Milly the last time I spoke to him-"

"He's probably doing the same thing we're doing", Daryl rasped, peering at her in the rear-view mirror, "Shacking up somewhere quiet"

Michonne winced ever so slightly as she rolled her shoulder, barely making a sound, but it was as if her husband read her mind, as he looked back at her from the passenger seat. She quickly shook her head, "It's fine. Just sore"

"We need to get something for Susan too. Like a crutch or a walking stick… I think she messed up her hip", Glenn informed.

"Yeah, Patricia told me", Rick sighed, "We need to take what we can get"

"What if there's people still there?", Andrea quizzed.

He tapped his colt on his bouncing knee, "Then they need to move out of my way"

Michonne knew well enough what her husband meant, and with all things considered, she felt it vital to adopt the same attitude.

Kings County looked even worse than it had done when they left. The streets where a mess, with abandoned cars dotted on sidewalks or the middle of the street. Store windows were non-existent, with even a few places burnt out or still burning. It only made Michonne even more uncomfortable to see the occasional body on the street, some picked clean. Everyone in the car peered out the windows silently, and nearly all in shock.

Michonne's worst fears were confirmed when they arrived at the hospital, and the dead were strolling in and out of the tents, some moving towards the fence when they saw the vehicle arrive. She inhaled a deep breath, preparing herself for the worst, "We need to find another way in"

Rick peered through the windshield, "We need to go around to the other side, where they can't see us"

"What if there's more of them inside? We don't have enough bullets with us", Glenn countered anxiously, "We need a distraction or something"

"He's right", Daryl shoved his magazine into his weapon, "You saw how they all turned, they just need somethan' to focus on"

Rick clenched his jaw as he thought, while Michonne suggested, "Someone can stand on top of a car or something. Maybe even that tank"

Andrea's eyebrows shot up, "That's a bold move"

Rick looked back at his wife, "That might work. Someone runoff that way while we go this way"

It seemed that no one wanted to volunteer for the job, so Michonne groaned, "Alright, my idea, I'll do it"

Rick looked as if he wanted to object, "You're doing it?"

"Yeah", She slapped her hand on the door handle, "Just be ready to run-"

"Well I'll wait here. If she hits the fan then we need a getaway driver", Andrea pointed out.

Michonne didn't miss the way her husband rolled his eyes before he agreed, "Alright. Fine. Let's do-"

Michonne opened the door and hopped out the car, and the dead growled for her. She closed the door and side stepped along the fence, checking to see if all eyes were on her, glad for the barrier between her and the walking corpses.

When she reached the tank, she climbed the wheel to stand at the top, "Hey! Over here! Look over here!"

The bodies soon piled up against the fence, trying their best to gnaw through the wire to get her, and Michonne didn't think it was possible to feel any more uneasy, but she refused to move.

Rick, Glenn and Daryl crept out his truck and ran in the opposite direction, leaving Andrea in the driver's seat. Michonne looked around her, hoping she wouldn't get the attention of anyone or anything else.

She still hadn't come to grips with everything that was going on. It was only the previous morning that she was lying in bed with her family around her, faced with trivial worries. Almost forty-eight hours later, she was stood on top of a tank, trying to get the attention of some flesh eating dead people. It scared her, and before Rick's confession the night before, She would have told him that, but she didn't want him to worry. He told her that he needed her, and she was going to be there for him, regardless of how scary the world had become.

She didn't know how long she had been standing for, but she knew she didn't like how long the men were gone. The afternoon sun was beginning to set, and the last thing she wanted was to be out in the night. The only thing she could hope for was that Judith was still in good condition, and everyone was safe at the farm.

Andrea appeared to be sleeping in the truck, and Michonne looked around for something to throw at the car to wake the woman, when she saw him at the fence. Michonne's shoulders fell, her face immediately crumbling as she realised that she felt better thinking he had been killed, rather than turning like the others.

Her father's neck and shirt was stained with dried blood, his eyes appearing almost completely grey as he bared his teeth at her.

She crouched down, taking a seat on the tank as she wept, "I'm so sorry, dad"

The man continued to growl, his hands gripping at the wire fence.

"I'm… I hate that this happened to you", She sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands just as a whistle sounded off nearby. She didn't need to look to know that it was probably Daryl, so she slid off the tank and stepped closer to the fence, "I love you so much"

Her hands trembled terribly, and she desperately wanted to raise the weapon she held, but it was as if it weighed a ton, as she couldn't, so instead she marched away, refusing to look back.

"What's wrong? What happened?", Rick quizzed, meeting her halfway between the truck and the tank.

"Did you get everything?", She ignored his questions while wiping her face a third time.

He nodded, his eyes darting all over her face, "Yeah, we did-"

"Alright, let's go"

"Hey, what happened?", He asked a little firmer, taking hold of her arm.

She blew a shaky breath, barely waving her hand in the direction of the fence, "He's there. He's right there"

Rick's mouth formed a circle as he was about to ask 'Who', when it dawned on him. His eyes darted up and down the fence, "Where?"

She shook her head, "It doesn't matter"

His looked at her with a raised brow, "Michonne-"

"It doesn't matter anymore. He's there. With them. He's one of them"

"He's still your father-"

"I know, and that's why this is my decision to make", She countered, "Leave him alone"

Rick's jaw automatically clenched, his eyes sailing away from her as he let go of her arm. He barked a quick, sharp, "Fine."

The journey back was deathly quiet, and Michonne didn't mind. She stared out the window, her hands still slightly shaking, until Andrea reached over and placed her hand atop of hers. The small gesture helped remind her that she wasn't alone, and as Susan had said earlier in the day, she didn't need to hide when she was hurting.

They were nearing the edge of town when a familiar vehicle pulled out from the side street, leading Daryl to come to a rolling stop, muttering to Rick, "That who I think it is?"

"It's Shane", Andrea sat up straight, "It is him, that's his car"

"Who is he with?", Glenn peered through the windshield between the two front seats.

"We're about to find out", Daryl opened his window the same time Shane did.

"Is it just you guys?", Shane called.

"Nah. Where you heading?"

"Back to mine. We had to step out and get a few thangs. What about you?"

"Staying outside of town. It's quieter out there, you might want to do the same"

"Yeah? Alright. Well hold on", Shane stepped out of his vehicle holding a walkie talkie, sprinting over to Rick's truck, "You ain't far right? Here"

"You get this from the station?", Daryl handed it over to Rick.

"Nah, one of the squad cars… I got another two"

"Alright. We'll use it. Probably turn it on tomorrow morning", Rick issued.

"Alright. Stay safe", Shane tapped the top of the car before backing up.

"You, too"

"Uh, guys? It's Shane, he can come right?", Andrea questioned, looking from Michonne to Rick.

Rick glanced back at his wife, then back out the windshield, "He's probably with Milly and her mother"

"...Yes, I understand that", Andrea responded dryly as Daryl began driving again.

"If you understand that, then you wouldn't even ask-"

"Okay, let's put this into context. This isn't your average day driving around town. Shits hit the fan and-"

"Feel free to go join your ex-boyfriend and his family, Andrea"

The blonde fumed, turning to her best friend, "Michonne?"

Michonne found herself facing a moral dilemma. She could easily see her husband's argument against inviting Shane and his family to the farm, and if it was just the father and daughter alone, she'd readily agree to ask them to join. But that wasn't the case.

"Michonne-"

"Shane's there. If he gets into trouble then he can call, we'll help, that's it. Other than that, she's not coming near my family and that's final", Her husband rasped coldly, "I have more important thangs to worry about than her"

"He's right… Lori does have Shane", Glenn agreed sheepishly, "It's not like they're out fending for themselves…"

Andrea sat back in her seat with a huff. "This is ridiculous! The world's falling apart! We should put our differences aside to help protect each other, not-"

"How about you go and do that then? I'll gladly drop you off?", Rick snapped.

"Stop that", Michonne warned, wishing they'd both stop bickering.

However, Andrea was not backing down, "Maybe I will!"

Rick scoffed, "There's no _maybe_ about it. Either you are or you aren't, so what's your pleasure?"

Andrea squinted at the side of Rick's face, "Fine. I will then"

"That's fine by me-"

"You are so-"

"Both of you knock it off!", Michonne almost yelled, "Just be quiet!"

Andrea pursed her lips as she looked the other way, while Rick stared out the windshield with a clenched jaw, the tension in the car slowly increasing, and Michonne could only imagine that it could get worse.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

 _'My Family'_

"...I just need you to open your eyes…"

Rick brushed his thumb over Judith's cheek, his eyes combing over her face.

"...That's all I need. You don't have to say anythan', you don't have to move… I just need to see those pretty eyes of yours, and I'll be just fine…"

It was a request he had made more than once in the time that they had returned to the Green's farm. He was confident that they had everything Hershel needed to care for her, and so he was prepared to wait by her side until she recovered, no matter how long it took.

"...Mommy! No! No, mommy! Naughty Mommy!", Andre cried out in the hallway.

Rick smirked, glancing towards the closed door, "...I guess your brothers going up for his nap"

Still nothing from the girl.

He inhaled slowly, moving his hand to her hair, "...I know we've had problems. I think that's why you've been giving me a little attitude lately. I haven't gotten a chance to spend time with you like we used to because your brothers always needed somethan'. When I get home at the end of the day, it's my turn to help out with Andre while your mother rests, and that's usually when Carl calls, then before I know it you're in bed. I hate that. I didn't even notice that you messed around with your eyebrows until you were right in front of me-"

"Andre! Get back here!"

"No! Naughty Mommy!", He could hear his son's little footsteps, followed by his wife louder ones.

Rick glanced towards the door again, "I think your brothers winning…"

"No! Daddy help me! No!"

"...I take that back", A light chuckled left him as he looked back at Judith, his eyes moving around her face, "...I should have told you that I don't really know what's going on right now. You saw what happened to your grandfather and Sharon, and I've seen some thangs myself...but I still don't understand, I just know that I need to keep you all safe. That's my first priority, no matter what. I can't rest until I know that you're out of harm's way… but besides that, I'm gonna' work on getting you and I back to where we were. Despite what you say or how you act, you'll always be my sweet, little angel, and I'm willing to bet my life that you won't ever come across anyone who has as much love for you as I do. That will always be unmatched"

The door creaked open, and a tired looking Carl appeared, carrying a glass of water and a plate of food, "Lunch. Patricia said you have to eat"

"Thank you son, but I'm not-"

"Patricia also said she'll send Grandma in here if I walk back in the kitchen with this plate", Carl added dryly, closing the door with his foot.

Rick rolled his eyes, "Leave it on the table for me"

The teen slid the plate down, as well as the glass, then took a seat on the bed opposite his father, "Anything?"

"Not yet. Waiting till Hershel's done with your grandmother so he can check on her"

"I heard her giving him hell. She doesn't want to use a walking stick"

"Thought as much"

Carl tilted his head as he looked at his sister, "She won't be too happy when she wakes up"

Rick rose a questioning eyebrow at him, "What makes you think that?"

"Her hair."

Judith's dark, usually curly mane appeared tangled and frizzy, leading Rick to snort, "It's fine. It'll be the least of her worries"

Carl raised both his eyebrows beneath his dark tresses, giving his father a look that said, 'Really?'

Rick sighed, "I'll brush it for her"

"...I think you should let mom do it"

He stared at his son from the corner of his eyes.

Carl gave him a knowing look, "You haven't moved from here since you got back, dad. You should let mom takeover"

"Your mother gets herself worked up. I don't want that", He received another knowing look from his son, leading Rick to sigh once again, "When she's done wrestling with Andre she can take over"

Carl sniggered, "I heard him screaming"

"He was saying 'Daddy help me'", Rick shook his head as he chortled.

"He did that when you were gone yesterday. I was trying to get him to sit down to eat and he kept yelling for Sasha to help him"

"Where'd he learn that from?"

Carl shrugged, "That's just kids, right? Remember when Judith went through a phase of shouting ' _Jesus Christ_ ' whenever something went wrong?"

Rick's eyes widened, "She did, didn't she?"

"That was funny", His son grinned, looking down at the girl in question.

"It was. She was so small but so loud-", He stopped himself when he felt movement by his hand, and he peered down at his daughter, whose eyes had opened to expose the tiniest of hint of blue under her low lids. It wasn't a grand move, but it was more than enough for Rick, "Hey there, sweetie"

"Hey Jude's", Carl smiled, scooting closer to her.

"You feeling okay?", Rick cupped her face, his thumb brushing her cheek again. Her eyes widened a small traction more, and she attempted to shake her head but he stopped her, "Hey, hey, that's okay. You just rest there alright?"

"I'll go get everyone", Carl whispered as he hopped off the bed.

"Yeah, go on", Rick nodded, though his gaze didn't leave Judith's face. She looked tired and miserable, but he still beamed at her, "I'm so glad to see you up. You nearly scared the life out of me"

"...My head hurts", She almost whispered with a hoarse tone.

"We'll get you somethan' for that", He assured, "Alright?"

She nodded weakly, finally looking up at him, "I want a hug"

Rick's heart melted, "I'd give you one right now if I could, but as soon as I can, I won't let you go, okay?"

"...Okay"

…

" _Carol said she thought she saw something over at Mike's house, I've been keeping watch but I ain't seen anythan' since_ "

Rick pressed the button on the walkie-talkie as he brought it back to his lips, "You see anybody else?"

" _Dale's still at his house, I told him to stand by his window every night at seven, so I know he's alright. Besides him and possibly Mike, I think the streets empty. I ain't heard anythan else_ "

Rick's eyes scanned across the field in front of him, "Alright. We'll check in with you same time tomorrow"

" _Got it_ "

"It's getting quite", Daryl rasped, perched on the porch railing, "Everybody's probably gone or locked up in their homes"

"That's a good thing, right? I mean, we saw how easy it is for all of those people to gather up together?", Glenn looked up at both men from his seat on the steps, "If there's nothing getting their attention then it makes it easier for us, and others, to do whatever we have to do. Now might be a good time to look into that 'cure' thing you guys heard about?"

"What 'cure'?"

Rick nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard his wife's voice so close behind him. He spun around and looked at her with a frown, "You did that on purpose"

"I did", She replied flatly, crossing her arms over her chest, "What 'cure'?"

He slowly inhaled, "The guy we met at the hospital. He said somethan' about the CDC in Atlanta, how they know what happened and that they were cooking somethan' up to stop it"

Her brows furrowed, "You believe that?"

"I barely even believe what's happening now", He scoffed, raking his fingers through his hair.

"Have you spoken to him since?"

"Not since before we left the house"

"What else did he say?"

"He's the one that told us to go home and keep quiet", Daryl answered as he pushed off the railing, "And he said to watch out for bites and scratches and shit"

Rick peered past his wife's head to see into the home, "How's Judith?"

"She's gone back to sleep", Michonne glanced over her shoulder, "Andrea's sitting with her"

He snarled as he rolled his eyes.

"Stop that. I don't want to hear the two of you arguing right now"

"Then tell her to go, and we won't have that problem"

Michonne gave him a warning look, one that told Rick that was dangerously close to lose snapping, but she quickly had to withhold whatever verbal lashing she was going to give him, as Cleo appeared in the doorway, "Where did Ally go?"

"She's not inside?", Glenn was on his feet in the blink of an eye.

The girl shook her jet black hair, "Nope. We were playing hide and seek"

"I saw her by the stairs a minute ago", Michonne informed.

Glenn frowned, but still walked towards the door, "She's probably hiding in the cellar again. I don't know how she can go down there, that place gives me the creeps"

"I'm gonna' check on the cars", Daryl announced, stomping down the porch steps, "I'm taking watch around front tonight"

"Alright", Rick called, watching the other man walk away before he turned back to his wife, "Andre?"

"Sleeping with Judith. I moved our stuff in there with her", She answered tiredly.

He shook his head, "You can take the bed, I'll stay down here with-"

"Stop. That."

"Fine.", He spat the word out, not wanting to add to the mounting tension between them, "Look, what do you think about this CDC stuff? Seriously?"

Her eyes darted away from him for a second, "What do you think?"

"I… I honestly don't know. A part of me doesn't want to risk it… but another part of me thinks we shouldn't rule it out"

She seemed to absorb his response, thinking it over carefully, "...We wait then. Things can turn around… if not, then we'll go and check it out"

His eyes darted all over her face as he agreed, "We'll do that"

"Alright"

She was about to turn back to the house when Rick took hold of her wrist, preparing to touch on a delicate subject, "Your father"

He felt her being to pull away, "What about him?"

"I know you think this is just your call but I don't think that's fair", He kept his tone light, void of any judgment, "He was the kid's grandfather. My father in law. We should get a say in what happens to him, and I don't like knowing that he's just wandering around at there with the rest of them. I don't think he deserves that"

She frowned at him, "I didn't leave him there as a punishment-"

"I know you didn't. I know you didn't want us to take care of him because you don't want to see him go again", The slight change in her expression told him that he was right. He tugged her closer to him, "We don't have to do somethan' about him right now, but that's somethan' I want done. I think the kids would want the same. I would have done the same for Sharon if I could"

The hard exterior she had built around her began to fall, and her eyes soon glistened with tears, "I wanted to- it's not that I didn't-"

"I know, You don't need to tell me. I know", He insisted, placing his hand at the base of her neck, his thumb stroking the skin beneath her ear, "I would have felt the exact same way"

She dropped her gaze as the tears streamed down her face, "Yeah"

"I'll be right there beside you. I'll take care of him with you", She closed the space between them, and Rick welcomed her with open arms, "You let me know when you're ready, and we'll go"

Michonne nodded, her head against his chest, "Okay"

…

The days at the residence were long, and much to Rick's disappointment, boring. The Greene's farm had a wooden fence that secured the property, so they didn't face much danger, and with plenty of food and weapons at hand, there was no reason to leave, so most days everyone just sat around, speaking amongst each other. It was the kind of scenario Rick hated. While he was grateful that his family weren't facing any obstacles, he was restless, and he found himself helping with anything he could to keep his mind busy.

"You finish chopping wood for the third day in a row?"

A dry chuckle left Rick as he passed Sasha in the hallway, "Yes I have"

"I hope for your sake we can find some use for all of it soon"

"I hope so too", He sighed, knocking the bathroom door.

"Rick?", Michonne called from behind it.

He twisted the knob and stepped inside, where Michonne was washing her hands at the sink, "Andre sleeping?"

"Yeah, I put him in the bed with Judith. Her and Lily are reading"

"Not magazines I hope", He muttered, stepping over to the shower.

"Nope. Books", She dried her hands and began fussing with her hair, "I think we need to start practicing with those guns"

He raised his eyebrows at her, "Yeah?"

"Yeah. The shooting range isn't far… we can go get some practice there. That impromptu lesson you gave us in the car isn't enough"

He nodded, "That's true"

"We can go out in small groups at a time. Probably talk to everyone about it over dinner"

"That's fine by me", He agreed, reaching for the back of his t-shirt and putting it over his head, "Carl could probably come in handy. He would have been learning about it at the academy"

"Yeah. I thought that", She turned to face him from the mirror, her eyes falling to his torso, but she hurriedly looked away, "I'm going to start doing inventory on the-"

"What was that?", He eyed her suspiciously.

"What?", She frowned.

"Why did you look away like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like I'm not your husband and someone else is"

She snorted, "I did not"

"Yes, you did"

"I just looked at you and then I looked away-"

"It's the way you did it, as if you're not meant to look over here", He put both hands at his sides as he quizzed her.

Michonne threw her hands up in the air as she huffed, "Maybe because it's inappropriate time for that"

He quickly grew serious, "An inappropriate time? How?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Look where we are and think about why we're here"

"I know very well what all that means, but what makes this very moment inappropriate?"

"Everyone is awake, and walking around the house and-", Her sentence came to an abrupt halt when she saw him step over to the bathroom door and lock it.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?", He grinned at her as he began to unfasten his belt.

"Have you any shame?!", She hissed, stepping towards the door, "We can't do that now, Rick"

He grabbed hold of her wrist when she was close enough, and he tugged her over to him, "I know exactly how long it takes, and what it takes to make you-"

"What if one of the kids wants to use the bathroom? Did you think about that?"

He rolled his eyes as he used one arm to hold her against him, and his other hand to grab her ass. The leggings she wore beneath her shirt dress allowed him to hold a generous amount, and he was even able to brush his fingers over her crotch in the process, causing her gasp in surprise.

'I need you to think about what I'm going to you right now", His nose pressed against hers as he teased her, "Think about where my hand is…"

He did it again, his digits pressing against her heat before he held took hold of her cheek. He could see he didn't need to do much more to get her attention, but they were both borderline sadistic lovers. He liked to make her desperate for him, to her beg him. He loved when she couldn't contain her excitement, and his name rolled from her lips eagerly. However, it was never that straightforward, unless of course, she had done something wrong and she was trying to get back in his good books, or they were in a hurry. The majority of the time, she would make him work for such a pleasure. If she was going to beg him to make love to her, he had better give her a reason to.

Luckily, they were in a hurry.

He backed her up to the counter, his eyes on her ass in the mirror as he tugged the leggings and her thong down. She pulled her shirt over her head and threw it over his shoulder, exposing the lacy black bra she wore. Rick's erection began to throb.

"Turn around", He ordered whilst getting to work on her jeans.

She did as she was told, showing off herself as she did, bending over in front of him, both elbows on the counter.

"Don't get too comfortable", He smirked, free from the materials that blocked him from his favourite place in the world. One of his hands clamped on her hip, while the other slipped around to her front.

"What are you…"

He toyed with her folds, leading her to stand up straight, giving him easier access. Her head rolled back onto his shoulder, one hand planted on the counter and the other on his wrist.

"Uh uh", He shook his head, whispering in her ear, "I want you to see this"

Her head snapped up when he pressed his middle finger on her bundle of nerves, and she soon hissed, "Fuck!"

Rick nearly shuddered when his tip brushed her heat, and he would have given anything in that moment to slip inside her, but he had to wait, so Instead he pushed two of his digits within her. With the other hand on the counter beside hers, he began rocking against, his fingers pulsing in and out of her entrance and his palm rubbing on her clit. She no longer held him, as she needed to muffle her moans somehow.

"You like what you see?", He questioned, teasing the skin on her neck with his teeth, "You thinking about that now?"

She moved her hips against his hand, her eyes on their reflection as she nodded, the high bun that contained her locks bobbing up and down.

"I can't hear you, Michonne"

She reluctantly moved her hand from her mouth, slapping it down on the counter, "Yes, Rick"

He curled his fingers inside her, "Tell me what I wanna' hear"

"God…", She panted, "Please fuck me-"

His digits were swiftly replaced with his member, but they rehomed on her bud, stroking her furiously as he started pumping her from behind.

Rick's eyes snapped shut when he felt her encase him, her walls hugging his length tightly. She need not worry that someone would catch them, because he willing to bet that he wouldn't last long anyway, "The thangs you do to me…"

Her breasts bounced in the bra she wore, and little whimpers rolled from her lips everything he disappeared in her heat. Rick held her in place, making sure she absorbed every thrust he made, which did nothing but reduce his own resolve. Being able to see her didn't help matters either.

The room was growing steamy from the running shower, Rick's hair began to fall to his face and little beads of sweat rolled down his toned back.

He knew Michonne was nearing her orgasm when she met his moves with defiance, pushing her ass back against him. It drove Rick wild.

"Make sure you pull out"

He would have frowned if he could, but all he could do was choke out a strained, "What?"

"Pull out", She spoke a little firmer.

"Why?"

Rick had never seen his wife move so fast before. She managed to squirm out of his hold and spin around to face him, leaving his erection floating in the air. He was able to frown at her now, "What are you trying to do to me?"

"I left my pills at home", She informed with a huff, crossing her arms over her heaving bosom.

Rick's eyes rolled shut, "Right"

Michonne hopped up on the counter and spread her legs, giving Rick the perfect view, "Now let's hurry"

His eyes lit up, as he grinned, "Yes ma'am"

…

"Aye… aye man, wake up"

Rick's eyes popped open, and he sat up straight, "What? What happened?"

"I heard them on here", Daryl held up the walkie-talkie to Rick as he crouched beside him, "Yelling and hollering… sounded like they were in trouble or somethan'..."

Rick blinked hard, trying to adjust his eyes in the dark, "Just now?"

"Not even a minute ago"

"What's wrong?", Michonne quizzed, sitting up in the chair she slept in.

"Shane and 'em. I heard them on them on here, think they might be in trouble"

Rick forced himself to stand, "You ain't heard anythan' else?"

"Nah man, just screaming. Sounded like… Carol, could have been Lori"

"Did you tell them?", Sasha poked her head around the door, "Oh good, you're up"

Rick grabbed his t-shirt from the end of the bed and pulled it on, "We need to listen talk out for anythan' else-"

" _Rick? Rick, you there man?_ "

Everyone in the room looked to the device in Daryl's hand as he lifted it to his mouth, "It's Daryl, what happened?"

"... _We had a problem, we had to leave, it ain't safe here no more_ ", Shane panted, sounding as if he were running.

"Everybody alright?"

" _Nah, man. Not at all_ "

Daryl looked to Rick, who in turn looked to Michonne. While none of them spoke, it was obvious they shared the same thoughts on Shane's plight. Rick huffed as he took the walkie-talkie from his friend, "Take everyone and get out of town. Go somewhere quiet-"

"Rick", Michonne called quietly, looking at him questioningly.

He matched her expression, but continued to speak to Shane, "Go somewhere quiet and shack up for the night. Give yourself sometime to calm down and rest for the night, then find somewhere safer in the morning. Remember, a bite or a scratch is serious, so you can't ignore it"

" _Yeah, I know_ "

"I'll check in with you in a hour, alright"

" _Alright. Got it_ "

Rick hadn't taken his eyes off his wife. She didn't have to say what she was thinking, he already knew it from the moment she called his name, "You have a problem with what I just did?"

Her brows were furrowed, as if she were torn in her argument, "Milly could be in trouble"

"Milly has two parents to look after her"

"Rick-"

"Michonne", He tilted his head at her, his eyes narrowed in disbelief, "What are you trying to tell me right now?"

Sasha grabbed her husband by the arm and pulled him out the room, quietly shutting the door behind them.

"Well?", He probed, taking the smaller steps towards her.

Michonne folded her arms, "They have a child with them. They have Carol, and Sophia and-"

"And Lori"

"I know, and I would rather she wasn't, but there are others with her that might need our help"

"I don't want that woman anywhere near my family, more importantly, Carl"

"Neither do I"

"Then we don't need to be having this conversation, right now. You told me you don't want her near any of us again and I've made sure of that-"

"She still won't be around us. She maybe near us, but not around us-"

"Tomorrow morning I'll go out and check on them. That's it. That's all the help we're offering", He instructed firmly, "You can't ask me to do any more than that because I won't"

She exhaled tiredly as she dropped her gaze, "So we're not making decisions together anymore? You're just taking charge again?"

He clenched his jaw as he shook his head, "I'm not arguing with you about her"

"You're willing to leave a group of people in possible danger, so you don't have to cross paths with one?"

He stared at her with the most intense gaze, not sure how he would answer that question, or if she would even like the truth. He decided he wouldn't answer it entirely as he backed up towards the door, "Lay down. Go back to sleep"

"This isn't about just her. There are other people to consider here"

He pulled the door open as he muttered, "Yeah. _My_ family"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

 _'The Sumari'_

"Where are you going?"

Michonne glanced up at her daughter as she laced up her boots, "...To go and see how Shane and Milly are doing"

Judith was sat in the bed with Andre and Demi sat in front of her, both engrossed with a sheet of sparkly stickers, "Are they coming here?"

Michonne shook her head, "No, but they have somewhere. We're just going to check if they're safe"

"What if they're not?"

"Then we will help them find somewhere safe"

The bedroom door creaked open and Maggie stepped in, followed closely by Cleo since the young girl clung to her mother's dress, "I'll take these two tykes to Patricia and Susan... How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"I'm okay. Is Lily done with getting her hair done yet?", Judith quizzed, looking up at the Brunette as she took Andre and Cleo's hands.

"Nearly, and she'll be right in here when she's done"

"Alright"

"You ready?", Maggie looked over at Michonne.

"Yep. Ready", She huffed, standing up from her seat, "The others?"

"Yep. I think Rick's just giving Carl and my dad a pep talk"

Michonne nodded, watching her friend lead the toddlers off the bed.

"I'll meet you out front"

"Okay", Taking a seat next to Judith when they were alone in the room, Michonne took the chance to catch up with her daughter, "How are you feeling? About everything?"

Judith's blue eyes sank to the thin sheet over her legs, "Confused? I don't get what's going on…"

"None of us do, so it's okay to feel that way"

Her daughter peered up at her through her dark lashes, "Why did you cut your hair?"

Michonne found herself taken back by the question, but still answered as truthfully as she could, "Well, I guess it was because I needed to. I have to adapt to what's happening here"

"What's that mean?"

"It means things are changing… so I have to, too"

Judith's brows furrowed, "Should I?"

Michonne gave her a weak smile, resting her hand on top of hers, "That's something we're going to have to talk about with all of you, but until then, you are your father's child. That means you are already strong, and you are already smart. You are one of the few people that were already built to survive, so all you need to know is how"

Judith's eyes darted all over her face, "I'm still scared though?"

"We all are, but we won't let that hold us back, will we?", When Judith shook her head, Michonne squeezed her hand, "We won't let anything stop of surviving this. And we won't let anything stop us from protecting our family, okay?"

Her daughter nodded, "Okay"

"That's my girl"

Michonne was slowly standing up again, when Judith spoke again, "Daddy liked your hair long…"

She stilled, peering down at the girl, "He did, but I'm sure he still likes me like this"

"Yeah", Judith recoiled, her top lip curling in disgust, "You guys are always kissing on each other"

Michonne chuckled at the girl as she started out the room, "Get some rest, please"

"I will"

Seeing Judith steadily recover from the car accident came as a relief to Michonne, but it ignited a whole new fear that had laid dormant for some time. She couldn't bear the thought of losing another child, and knowing the risk was greater than before kept her up at night. It was while she watched all three of them sleep that she decided that she was going to teach them everything she learned along the way, with hopes of giving them a fighting chance.

She left the house and headed to Daryl's truck which was parked at the gates, with the owner leaning against it, inspecting a small gun in his hands. She soon joined him, watching what he was doing, "Have you heard anything?"

He shook his head, "Not since this morning. Dale said they were held up at his bar"

"That's good then… Heavy doors"

"That's what I thought"

She glanced back towards the house, "You think this is going on everywhere else?"

"Without a doubt. Small towns are always the last to hear anythan'... when stuff gets bad then it don't hit us till everythan' else is gone to shit"

She bit her lip as she nodded, agreeing with his point, "You're right"

"So are you", He straightened up, turning to face the vehicle, "And so is he"

Michonne understood the subtle reference to the argument she and Rick had the night before. She stepped out the way as Daryl opened the door, "Yeah."

Glenn strolled down the drive with his wife not far behind him, followed by Rick. The couple also hadn't spoken since the night before either, which was something they both preferred when they weren't seeing eye to eye, as neither wished to add to any brewing tensions.

With a handful of weapons to hand, the five of them set off, back into Kings County for a second time. Michonne took a seat in the back, with Maggie on one side of her and Rick on the other, while Daryl drove beside Glenn.

"Glenn told me what to expect, is it really that bad?", Maggie probed quietly.

Michonne slowly inhaled, giving her a little nod, "Yeah"

The woman's green eyes darted all over her face for a moment, before trailing towards the front of the car.

Michonne sat her hand on her friend's knee, offering a comforting squeeze, though it wouldn't do much to prepare her for what she was going to see.

"Is it bad if we check out a few places while we're in town? You know… just in case?", Glenn peered into the back seat as he made his request, "Since we're out there? We can stock up, since we don't know how long we'll be at the farm?"

Michonne nodded, staring out the windshield in front of her, "I think that's a good idea"

"Yeah, we can take a look", Rick added, though his attentions was on the walkie-talkie in his hands.

"Food should be at the top of our list. There's a lot of mouths to feed"

"Then medicine. You can never have enough", Glenn pointed out.

"A few things for the women wouldn't go amiss either"

Michonne was surprised to see Glenn blush, "Yeah… that too"

"You have three daughters and a wife", Maggie stated dryly, leading Michonne to bite back a smile, "Get used to it"

"We're gonna' have to stop here", Daryl announced, "Go any further and we might get stuck up there"

"Isn't that the truck that ran us off the road?", Glenn pointed to the vehicle that stuck out of a building, having crashed into several over cars which blocked the road.

"Looks like he just kept going until somebody stopped him"

"Come on", Rick rasped, his gun in his hand, "Keep quiet and stay close"

"Got it"

Everyone exited the vehicle, being mindful not to slam the doors closed. Michonne couldn't help but examine the truck as they snuck past it, wondering where the driver had gone, or whether they were still inside.

"Wait", She hissed, breaking away from the others to inspect the cabin.

"Why?", Rick questioned, frowning at her.

"Whoever was in there might still be there or they might have got out", She explained, approaching the open door with caution. She couldn't hear any movement, and all she could see from where she stood was a shattered windshield. Inching closer, she saw the driver seat empty, and hardly anything to warrant the thought that the person was injured in the crash. It was when she was about to head back that she caught sight of something under the seat. Without thinking, she swiftly retrieved it, climbing up on the step to grab the handle.

"What are you doing?", Rick sounded annoyed as he came up behind her.

She climbed back down and studied the new weapon, removing it from its sheath, "It's a sword"

Her husband stared at her.

"We could save bullets if we start using things like this", Her eyes admired the blade.

She could see he was struggling to follow her train of thought as he hurriedly nodded, "Fine. Got it. Let's go"

It was fortunate for them that the streets were almost empty, but with the odd noise coming from here and there, they knew they weren't alone. When they reached Dale's bar, they sprinted around to the back entrance, not wanting to draw attention to the front of the building.

It was Glenn who knocked on the door, while the others hung around, scoping the area. It took several knocks before Dale opened the heavy door with wide eyes, "Oh, thank God, you're here"

"Everythan' alright?", Rick quickly quizzed.

"Uh, well that depends, come in"

They slipped inside the building, filling down a dark hallway that led to the bar. Carol was sat at a table with her daughter, both wearing a look of relief when she saw the small group, uttering the same words Dale had, "Thank god"

"Where's Shane… and the others?", Rick eyes darted between the scared faces.

"He's upstairs…", Dale sighed, stepping over to the bar and taking a seat on the bar stool, "Everything just went to hell so quickly-"

"Is anyone hurt?", Glenn probed, looking back towards the way they came.

"They were…", Dale slowly inhaled, "Shane came over and told me what you told him, about going somewhere quiet? So I agreed because… we'd see these poor sick people just wandering around through the street and it didn't feel safe so… he said we'd leave in the night so we wouldn't draw attention to ourselves… we went over to the school teacher- Mike's, to check how he and his mother were doing and-and we could hear banging… we look up at the window and his mother was there…"

Everyone watched Dale relay the story with pensive expressions, not daring to interrupt him.

"...We got in and Mr Hanson was right there- he was gutted out like a pig… but he was still moving- he was alive, and Shane shot him point blank… Mrs Hanson came down just as Mike…Mike came out of nowhere and he grabbed her and he…", Dale ran his hands over his face, "Shane shot him and… she… she was bleeding out and… he shot her too"

Michonne bowed her head, blinking several times as she tried to relive her stinging eyes.

"We barely got out there. I think the gunshots brought them in, there were so many when we went back outside"

Heavy footsteps made their way down the stairs, and Shane soon stepped into view, looking around and everyone curiously, "How's everyone doing? You get here alright?"

"Yeah", Rick breathed, scratching his brow with his thumb, "You're gonna' have to secure this place if this is where you're holding up"

"We didn't see much when we were coming but that can change at any minute", Daryl added dryly.

"Probably board up those up", Rick waved his hand towards the windows, "And only use the back door, you need to keep the front clear"

"We can help with that"

"Yeah? Alright then. We can get to work on that", Shane agreed, already looking around for things to use.

"While you're doing that, some of us can go check out the stores nearby", Michonne glanced in Maggie's direction for back up, "We can do that, right?"

Maggie's eyes widened, though she still nodded, "Uh, yeah? Yeah. We can. We… can"

Rick turned to face his wife, "This won't take long"

She looked to Daryl, "You mind coming along?"

The man gave her a knowing look, one that he'd often give when he didn't wish to be caught between the two of them, "I don't mind"

"The three of us can just do a quick sweep of everything", She insisted, peering back at her husband, "It's more efficient, and quicker to have two groups getting things done"

"That's true", Glenn agreed, almost regretfully.

"Makes sense", Shane nodded, looking between the two of them.

If Michonne could read Rick's mind, which was a power that she was certain she possessed, she could bet that he was racking his brain, searching for a good enough reason to throw her idea out the window. He clenched his jaw when he couldn't find one, "Alright, fine"

…

"You think you can use that?"

"I can try. I remember a few things I learnt from fencing, so maybe I can figure this out"

Maggie looked at the blade that sat on Michonne's back, "It suits you"

"Really? Rick looked at me like I was crazy", Michonne snorted, putting some canned vegetables in the shopping cart.

"That's because he doesn't like the idea of you holding a weapon so close to him", Daryl snickered, lighting a cigarette as he strolled past them.

"Sasha doesn't like the idea of you smoking again", She countered.

"Don't tell her then"

Maggie chuckled quietly at the two of them as she also began packing items in her cart, but her smile didn't last long, "...I wonder what happened to Mike? For him to…"

Michonne's chest sank, but she only paused for a brief moment, "I don't want to think about it"

"...It's just such about shame to hear all that… that poor family"

Michonne truly didn't wish to think about it. She had grown friendly with Mike again since his family's return to Kings county, and even though Rick wouldn't admit it, he had done to when the man was Judith's teacher, but she blocked her thoughts of them out, the same way she was trying to do with her father, Sharon and even Leon. She wouldn't allow herself to crumble again.

"...I think we can get everythan' we need in here. We get as much as we can and we won't have to make another trip for a while"

"Carl could eat everything in this cart in a day", Michonne smirked, trying to lighten the mood again, "The boy is a machine"

"Lily's catching up to him", Daryl sniggered, "She could finish a loaf of bread by herself"

"Oh please, you need to see Glenn at a buffet table", Maggie shook her head at the thought, "It's amazing and scary at the same time"

Both Daryl and Michonne were grinning at her joke, when they heard something crash on the other side of the store. Daryl removed his cigarette from his mouth and raised his finger to his lips, signalling for them to be still as he crept to the end of the aisle.

Michonne slowly got behind her cart as she watched him from over her shoulder, while Daryl did the same, peering around the corner. He held up one finger, then two, then finally four when he looked back at the women, mouthing "Four!"

Maggie was retrieving the gun her husband had given her when Michonne waved her hand to stop her. She clicked her fingers once to her Daryl's attention, then held up a jar to, signalling for him to throw it. The man squinted at her as he tried to understand what she meant, but he finally caught the meaning.

Grabbing two jars of dip of the shelf nearest to him, Daryl, hurled them over the aisles, as far aisles as possible. When they heard the second jar land, he jogged back to them, hissing under his breath, "Let's go!"

He ran in front of them, while the woman got behind the carts, pushing as quickly and quietly as they can. Fortunately for them, they were near the entrance of the store, and they were able to slip out undetected, however, they weren't out of the woods yet, as three infected corpses hung around in the parking lot.

"We should kill them", Maggie insisted, "We need to get used to it. We won't always have jars there to save us"

"She's right", Michonne huffed, glancing back towards the store as she pulled the sword free from its sheath.

Daryl and Maggie both looked at her with disbelief.

"What?", She furrowed her brows together.

"You really want to use that, huh?", Daryl commented dryly as he removed his hunting knife.

She rolled her eyes at him, though he was right, she did. Something about the blade appealed to her, much more than any of the guns she'd held.

"Alright, you wanna go straight for the head", Daryl instructed, "Grab them by the neck and sink it in"

Maggie recoiled in disgust, but still held her gun up, "Go ahead, I'm watching"

The Hunter ran up to the first one, grabbing the man by the throat and impaling him in the forehead. Michonne didn't have a chance to feel nauseous from the sight, as she ran over to the second one and swung the blade around as hard as she could, slicing through the woman's neck, so her body fell in one direction and the head in another. She gagged when she saw blood dripping from the blade, "Oh god"

Daryl handed Maggie his knife and took her gun, "Your turn"

"Oh boy", The Brunette muttered, eyeing the young blonde boy that stumbled towards them. After a fee quick breaths, she did the same as the others, running over to him and grabbing him by his shoulder, stabbing him in the side of his head. She stepped back as the body fell, looking down in shock, "God…"

"Now how about them?", Daryl used his thumb to point over his shoulder at the store, "We get them out, kill em, then we can finish up in there"

Michonne peered at Maggie through narrowed eyes, "Yeah?"

The other woman sighed, "It was my idea… my stupid idea… so, let's go"

Michonne's conversation with Judith played in her mind as she killed another. She did need to adapt, and fast, so in one warped point of view, she was glad to kill. It was a skill that she had to master in order to pass down what she learned to her children. Unlike her husband, she hadn't had years of training with weapons or dangerous situations. She meant what she said when she told Judith that her father was built to survive, because he was, and she was beginning to think that he was made for a time like this.

It had also became apparent to her that thinking about the new side of her husband made her core flutter with delight.

With their new inventory piled into Daryl's truck, they headed back to the bar, where Shane, Glenn and Rick were almost done barricading the ground floor. Michonne was relieved for the others, knowing they would be safe for the time being.

"Is that blood?", Rick enquired, taking hold of her arm as he inspected her. He was the only one left on the ground floor, while the others had gone up to the roof terrace.

"Not mine", She informed, also inspecting herself, "I used the sword"

His eyebrows sprung up as he tilted his head at her, "You used the sword?"

"It did the trick, none of us used any guns. We got a lot of stuff, too"

He shook his head at her as he exhaled heavily, "Well, as long as no one was hurt"

"No, Daryl showed us how to kill them"

"No, I meant as long as no one was hurt when you started swinging that thang around", He tipped his head towards the weapon that was slung over her shoulder, "I guess your new name should be 'The Sumari', huh?"

She narrowed her eyes at him as she crossed her arms over her chest, "How about I show you how I use it?"

He raised his eyebrow at her as he grinned, "You can show me later without all those damn clothes on"

She bit her lip for a moment as she tried her best not to laugh, then proceeded to shake her head at him, "You are so scandalous, Grimes"

He reached out and took her by her waist, "You still mad at me for wanting to put my family first?"

"No, I'm not mad about that", She clarified firmly, "I'm mad about the fact that you didn't even discuss what we could do to help with anyone else. You just made up your mind and that's not fair"

"That may very well be the case-"

"It _is_ the case-", She countered flatly.

"We're just gonna' have agree to disagree on this, alright?", He cocked his head at her as he gave her an encouraging look.

She gave him one last little glare, "Fine"

He pulled her against him, "Good, and I hope you don't hit me ' _by acciden_ t' in your sleep tonight"

The man never failed to make her chuckle, "It _was_ an accident"

"It didn't feel like an accident at all, if felt like a punch now that I think about it"

She sniggered as she cupped his face, her thumbs brushing over his beard as she gazed lovingly at him, "It was an accident, old man"

He allowed his head to fall into her hold as he took a deep breath, "I'm sorry about Mike… and his parents"

She blew out, touching her forehead to his nose, "Me too"

His eyes darted behind her when they heard footsteps trudging down the stairs, and Michonne released him when the others stepped into the room. A large smile spread across her face when she saw Milly, ignoring her mother who was right behind her.

"Sorry to hear about Judith", Carol rested her hand on Michonne's shoulder, "I told Rick to send her our love"

"Thank you, she's doing much better", She replied, placing her hand on top of Carol's, "But how are you guys holding up?"

"As best we can, but Shane has been a godsend"

"Yeah, I can imagine"

"We need to be heading out", Daryl insisted quietly, leading Michonne to believe that the man was ready to return to his family.

"Yeah", Rick agreed, glancing at his watch.

"This one wanted to ask you guys somethan' before you leave", Shane announced, nudging Milly forward.

"Sure, go ahead", Michonne beamed down at her.

"Can I talk to Carl and Judith tonight? On the walkie-talkie?", Milly requested, her big brown eyes darting between Rick and Michonne.

"Of course you can, we'll turn it on at…"

"Six", Rick finished for her, "You'll make Judith's day"

"Thanks", She smiled, looking the spitting image of her father.

"No problem"

The group said their goodbyes and parted ways with the others before finally heading back to the farm. Michonne was grateful that the trip went smoothly, and she could tell that Rick felt the same, as they were risking their lives whenever they went into town. Thinking about what Kings County had been reduced to saddened her, especially when she thought of her home. She could understand why Susan wanted her wedding picture, as Michonne was wished for the same. She regretted not taking a few things with her that served as a reminder of their old life. The only thing she had was a small Polaroid picture Rick kept in his wallet, and she vowed to cherish the image when she got her hands on it.

The group seemed to all breathe a sigh of relief when they arrived back on the farm, where Beth and Andrea were sat on the porch, chattering away. Michonne was eager to check on Judith, and she knew Rick was too, so they began to make their way up to the house while the other unloaded the items from the truck.

"No! Naughty Carl! No!"

Rick groaned as he stepped through the front door, "Someone's not happy"

A naked Andre bolted out of the room they were staying in, running down the hall with his hands in the air as he screamed, "No! No diaper!"

"Oh my god", Carl soon appeared, running after him, "Where are you going?!"

"Run, Andre! Quick! Run!", Rick called after the boy's as he chuckled, nudging his wife, "You see that? I told you it's time to get him out of those diapers. He needs to be potty trained"

She shot him a brief side eye, "Yeah, If you can catch him first"

"We should have picked up one of those fishing nets in town"

"Ever the comedian, Grimes", She smirked, shaking her head at him.

"I thought that's what you loved about me the most?"

She looked past him as she thought about it, "It's in the top two"

"What's the other thang?", He began to frown, just as a flirtatious smile spread across her face, her eyes cascading down his torso while she stepped past him. His eyebrow arched as his gaze followed her, "Yeah?"

"Yep", She teased, unable to hold back a little giggle.

He came up behind her, rasping in her ear, "Just _wait_ until the kids go to sleep-"

They both froze when they heard the sound of an engine pulling up outside the home, leading them both to step back onto the front porch, wondering who it could be as all of the other vehicles were still where they left them.

"I knew that was my little brother's car I saw leaving town!", Merle sang, dangling out of his rusty window with a large grin, while the others peered at him with a mixture of horror and rage, but the man appeared not to notice, "And the whole gang is here! Lookin' like a united nations meeting… I bet you all got your little beige and brown kids running around together too"

Michonne shared a brief look of annoyance with her husband, "I think this goes without saying-"

"I'll get him", Rick growled, about to step off the porch when Sasha burst through the door.

Michonne had never seen her friend look so angry as she breathed through gritted teeth, "Out of my way".


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

' _I do_.'

"Ain't none of y'all tried to stop her! You see me bleeding over here, get me a goddamn cloth or somethan'!"

Rick continued to look at Hershel as if he couldn't hear the man yelling in the distance, "It was self-defence"

Hershel's eyes darted behind Rick to look at Merle, "Are you sure about that, Rick?"

"...The man is on drugs most of the time, usually drunk. I don't want him anywhere near the kids, specifically Lily"

"His niece?"

"Specifically Lilly", Rick repeated.

Hershel's chest slowly rose as he inhaled, "I hear what you're saying, but I'm a man of God, Rick. I can't turn the man away in a time of need just because he's made a few mistakes in his life-"

"I agree with that, but it's not a few mistakes-"

"You don't always have clean hands either, Rick"

"I know that, but even if I didn't, my wife would surely be there to remind me", He shot the woman in question a brief look as she stood beside him, "My point is that I'm willing to do a lot to protect almost everyone in this farm-"

"Bite me!", Andrea snapped as she perched on the porch steps, leading Michonne to give him a pointed look, while Hershel's eyes bulged in shock.

"If he puts my family in jeopardy then I'm not afraid to-"

"What he means is", Michonne cut in, "He sees Merle as liability, because of his dependency issues and I have to agree because he's unpredictable, which in my eyes makes him dangerous"

"The lawyer", Hershel smirked as he shook his head at her, "Michonne, I can't turn that man around in good faith. Especially now he's wounded. You've all been telling me how dangerous it is out there, so you can't expect me to send him out there like this"

Michonne slowly nodded as she glanced in Maggie's direction, "How about if he stays in his truck or something? I don't want him near the children either, and I think the other parents could agree with that too?"

"Do you honestly think he could be a danger to-"

"He swears incessantly, he is known to carry some kind of drug paraphernalia on him most of the time", Michonne recalled effortlessly, "Couple that with the fact that he has access to his own weapons? I wouldn't even chance it if he was unconscious"

Hershel seemed to consider her argument as he looked at Rick, "You should let her speak for you more often"

"If I let her speak for me anymore than she already does then I think I'd be legally classified as a mute", He countered, giving his wife a knowing look before he turned to face the others by the cars. Merle was still leaning against his beat up old truck, blood dripping from nose, and lip, while Daryl kept his angry wife far from his brother. Rick sighed, "Maybe around the back?"

"Yeah, near the barn", Maggie nodded, shifting Demi from one hip to the other, "I guess we should patch him up"

Rick snorted, "He's fine"

"I'll see if Sasha has calmed down", Michonne mumbled, already making her way down the porch steps.

Rick watched her as he did the same, but making his way towards Merle instead. It was no secret that he couldn't stand the man, no more than Sasha, but still just as much, so it was only natural that he crouched over the man in spoke firmly, "You are gonna' park your truck on the other side of the house-"

"I need a medic", Merle spat, his lip curling in displeasure.

"And I only need one reason to break your jaw", Rick countered easily, "And every second that I'm around you, I'll be looking for that reason, whether you do somethan' stupid like try to talk to Lily, or just look at me for too long-"

"Where is my little niece? She must be a big girl now-", Merle's sentence trailed off into a series of gagging noises as Rick grabbed hold of his throat.

"One. Reason", Rick tilted his head forward as he glared at the man, "Now you're gonna' move your truck, and you're gonna' stay in your truck, and you won't step foot in the house unless the owner grants you permission. Failure to comply will result in my foot on your skull, you understand?"

Merle coughed and spluttered as Rick released him, "You, s-son of a-"

"Watch your mouth", Rick ordered as he stood up, rolling his shoulders back tiredly as he looked over in his friends direction, where Sasha appeared to be hissing something at Daryl as she pointed at Merle. Rick would have left her to continue to reach into her brother in law's truck to punch him, but with children nearby, he didn't wish for them to see such a thing.

He stalked back inside the home after making sure that Merle was indeed going to move his truck, and he intended to find Judith in the bed, but after being informed by Lily that she had been in the upstairs bathroom the whole time, he went to investigate.

"Judith? You alright in there?", He quizzed, resting one hand on the door frame.

"Yeah...Um, can you call mama, please?", Judith called back, her tone noticeably higher.

Rick narrowed his eyes at the white wooden door, "I hope you're not messing around with your eyebrows again-"

"No, dad, I'm not!"

He frowned, as Judith never called him 'dad' before, "What's going on Judith? Tell me? Did somethan' happen? What is it?"

There was silence.

"Judith? If there's somethan' wrong with your stitches then tell me-"

The door opened, and his daughter stood in front of him in her fluffy pink dressing gown, wearing a slightly confused look as she uttered the words, "...I think I started my period"

Rick's eyebrows sprung up in shock, and he took the tiniest step back, as if the news had actually hit him. Judith continued to stare at him, while he stared back at her, "...Are you.. wait, what?"

"This is why I wanted mama", Her daughter responded dryly.

Rick slowly inhaled as he thought about his next words carefully, "...Have you… did you...are you _prepared_?"

"...Prepared?"

"Have you got the thangs…", It was becoming increasingly difficult for Rick to string a sentence together, "The thangs you need for… _a time like this_?"

He was sure that Judith was looking at him with nothing but disappointment; her dark brows knitted together over her blue eyes, her lips slightly pursed as if she were in deep thought. It took some time, but she finally said, "I'm going to mama now, dad, okay?"

It wasn't just the fact that Judith was no longer referring to him as 'daddy' which made his heart sink in his chest, but the fact that she had reached a new milestone in her life and he was stumped on how to handle the new phase. It took him a few mind numbingly long seconds to finally step aside, nodding his head, "Alright, go on...but if you need anythan' then just ask"

"Okay", His daughter slunk past him and trudged down the stairs, barely making a sound because of the slippers she wore.

Rick stood on the landing for a time, staring down the stairs long after his daughter had disappeared. He was in such deep thought that he didn't realise that the two youngest members of their group had begun to make their way up the stairs, wearing mischievous grins as Beth hovered behind them.

"Come Dre", Demi called, peering back over her shoulder to see where her partner in crime was.

"Daddy!", His son beamed, moving as fast as has little limbs could carry him when he saw Rick.

"Uncle 'ick!"

"Where did you two think you were going?", Rick crouched down, scooping Demi up first, then Andre, "On a little adventure?"

"Cookie, please?", Demi requested sweetly, her greens eyes pleading with Rick.

Andre was no different, "Juice, please?"

Rick chuckled at both of them, as he began to head down the stairs, "Two cookies and juice, coming right up"

…

"She called me ' _dad_ '"

Sasha glanced in his direction as she wore an amused smile, "She's growing up, Rick. We knew this day would come"

He shook his head as he looked out onto the dark field, "Not so soon"

"What did Michonne say?"

Rick thought back to his wife's reaction, "She told me it was all in my head. She thinks it won't change anythan' but… that's already happened. Everythan' that's happening now is slowly changing us… whether we like it or not. Even she's changing before my very eyes… swinging that sword around-"

"It suits her", Sasha ejected with a little smile, "Ain't that funny how that happens? You never know what feels right, until you have try it out, until you have to act-"

"She fenced when she was young"

"Not just Michonne. You, Daryl, Glenn… even Carl. Everybody has a new role to play and I think we're all stepping up, don't you think?'

Rick blew a breath as he thought about it, "I guess you're right about that"

"...Judith is going to figure out her way now too, you know? She might be going through a change of her own but I agree with Michonne, she'll still need you just as much as she needed you before. Even more so now"

"Nah, she's needs her mama now", He huffed, peering down at the gun he held, "Which ain't a bad thang. Michonne's in her element; her face just lights up when one of the kids need her, so I'm not gonna' get in the way of that"

Sasha's thin brows knitted together as she thought, "...I think Lily prefers her dad. He's let her play with knives since she was five"

Rick frowned as he looked at the other woman, "Five? I'm sure she was younger than that?"

Sasha peered back at him with thunder in her eyes as she spat, "What?"

Rick swiftly peaked at his wristwatch, "You know what? How about you go inside, get some rest, I'll be fine out here"

The woman slowly rose to her feet, muttering something incomprehensible under her breath. Rick wished he could communicate with his best friend through thoughts, just so he could warn Daryl that he may be in trouble with his wife. He made a mental note to apologise in the morning.

Rick had decided to stay up that night, watching over the farm while the others slept, simply because he had a lot on his mind, which made it difficult to sleep. He was worrying more and more with each passing day, dreading something awful would happen soon enough. He thought of his father in law often, and a part of him wandered if Michonne did too, but he wasn't so sure. With her attitude towards the current situation hardening, he could easily imagine her burying any sadness she felt, and he could easily see Carl doing the same. Rick could only hope that they would discuss their feelings with him when they were ready.

The screen door creaked open, leading Rick to peak over his shoulder to see who it was, and much to his dismay, it was his mother, "It's chilly, mom. Go back inside-"

"I'm fine", She waved her free hand at him, while using the other to guide her walking stick, "I thought I'd come check on you"

" _I'm_ fine", He watched her closely, holding out his hand when she was close enough, so she took it, and gingerly took a seat on the step beside him.

"It's so peaceful out here… makes it hard to believe what's going on…", His mother sighed, setting her cane down beside her, "Michonne told me about poor Mrs Hanson and her family. It's devastating"

"Yeah…", Rick looked around the backyard, his eyes landing on Merle's truck.

"...I'm worried about your brother and my grandson", His mother's voice changed, sounding a little strained, "I wish there was a way I could speak to them, know that they're alright…"

"You said they were coming here, right?", Rick looked at her, sensing that she was on the verge of tears. When she nodded her head, he continued, "I don't think they're in any trouble… I couldn't tell you exactly why I felt that way, but I think Jeffrey… He's smart, he's intuitive, if somethan' don't look or sound right to him then he won't go any further… I can bet my arm that he's being careful"

The older woman exhaled tiredly, "I don't doubt that, but there still my boys… I will worry until I see them in front of me"

"I don't doubt that at all", He reached out and rubbed his mother's back tenderly, "We just have to give them time"

"Have you told Carl?"

He stopped moving, "No. Not yet"

"You have to-"

"I know, and I will"

"Good…", She shook her head with despair as she looked out to the yard, squinting in the direction of Merle's truck, "How's he doing?"

"Fine. Sasha didn't do that much damage"

"Well ain't that a shame"

Rick snickered at his mother, "Did you see what happened?"

"Of course, I was watching from the window when I saw her race outside. I didn't know that such a small woman could kick so high"

"She caught him good-"

"She did", His mother grinned, "I can't stand that bastard"

Rick's eyebrows shot up in surprise at her language, as he could probably count on his hand how many times he had heard her swear in his entire life.

"How can you have such a sweet, good boy like Daryl, always looking after his family and his friends, so caring… and then you have Merle, who's such low rent, no-good, horrible-"

"Alright alright, don't get yourself all worked up", Rick chuckled dryly.

His mother adjusted her dressing gown, "You know I'm right"

"You're right. You're always right. _All_ the women in my life are right"

His mother gave him a single nod of her head, "That's right"

...

"You know, I feel like there's somethan' between us, like some kind of wall…"

Michonne released a barely audible giggle as she peered down at Andre, "Oh really?"

Rick did the same, glancing at his son, who was curled up between against his mother, a territorial little hand placed on her cheek as he slept, which Rick found amusing, "Have you noticed that he doesn't like me getting to close to you now?"

"Because he likes to sleep next to me", She shrugged, "It's normal"

Rick was tempted to bring up the fact that it was her idea to keep their youngest child in their bed with them, but he also didn't wish to argue so early in the morning, since he was tired from staying up for most of the night, and he enjoyed speaking in hushed tones to his wife, "We don't really get to cuddle anymore…"

"No, not with this one…", She looked to the bed where Judith slept beside Lily, "Or those two…"

"Or him", Rick pointed over his shoulder with his thumb at Carl, who had taken to sleeping in a recliner in the corner of the room, "Well, we could kick him out-"

"No. We couldn't".

"Fine", He huffed, reaching over to move a lock behind her ear, "Are you gonna' keep it like this?"

Her brows furrowed for only a second, "I haven't thought about that"

"...Do you think about him? Them?"

It was a vague question, but he knew she understand that he was referring to her parents, as she hesitated to answer, "No."

"...Are you afraid to?"

"...Yes. Is that silly?"

"No. Not at all"

She exhaled, releasing a shaky breath, "I thought it might be."

"It's not, I understand", He was being truthful with her.

She hummed while she sighed, her brown eyes roaming his face, "You're doing great, I hope you know that"

He raised an eyebrow at her, "You think?"

"I do"

He opened his mouth to say something else, when he caught whiff of a questionable smell, causing him to pull his shirt up over his nose, "He did that on purpose"

"He's sleeping, Rick", Michonne pouted as she smoothed the boy's hair back, "Leave him alone"

"That's why he faces away from me, you know that right? So if I try to touch you, he can just let one off"

His wife covered her mouth as she chuckled, "You are terrible"

"Look, watch this", Rick sat up, placing his weight on his forearm as he leaned over the toddler to give her a kiss when Andre whimpered, scooting closer to his mother. Rick's eyes widened in disbelief, " _See_?"

"Oh, leave him alone", She grinned as she moved some of the boys curls from his face, "He's innocent"

"I don't believe that"

"Oh god", Carl gagged from his sleeping area, his top lip curling in horror as he rubbed his eyes, "Was that Andre?"

"No, it was your mother", Rick joked, which earned him a playful slap on the arm from Michonne, "Of course, it was Andre. It's the twigs and leaves diet that she has him on"

Carl groaned as he turned over, facing the other way, while Michonne gave Rick her signature look, "I'm going to start taking a few things off the table for you, too"

He shook his head as he laid back down, "I don't like that, Michonne"

"You have to be healthy, Rick. I don't want anything interfering with that"

"I am healthy, I don't drink anymore, I've never smoked-"

"Your heart, Rick", She stressed, "We need to remember that"

He turned his head to look at her, "Is that somethan' you've been thinking about?"

"I've never stopped", The worry wasn't just apparent in her tone, but in the way her eyes focused on him, "Now… I wouldn't even know what to do or where to take you if something happened-"

"I don't want you to think about stuff like that", He almost whispered.

"You can't stop me"

She was right, he couldn't, but he still took her hand in his, bringing it up to his lips so he could kiss the palm of her hand, "I'll make sure we won't have that problem, alright?"

"Thank you", She brushed her thumb over his cheekbone, letting her hand sit comfortably on his jaw, "What am I going to do with you?"

He raised a suggestive eyebrow at her, "Well-"

"Stop that"

"You asked"

"You are terrible, Grimes"

"But yet, you still love every inch of me"

Her eyebrows shot up while her mouth fell open, clearly shocked by his remark, though the glint in her eye told him that he was not mistaken, "You better stop that"

He bit his lip in a bid to stifle his laughter, "You walked right into that one…"

"You need to get some sleep, you've been up all night", She insisted softly, "You should go upstairs because the kids will be up soon"

"I'll be alright", He closed his eyes, the gentle stroking movements of her thumb helping him to drift off.

"Alright…"

…

" _I've seen more wandering past, maybe a hundred? I don't know if they're coming from the city or some people was held up somewhere and they broke out but...They're grouping up… not just a couple, a whole bunch of them together, like they're drawn to each other_ "

Rick brought the walkie-talkie towards his lips, "They hanging around?"

" _Nah, if they hear somehan' then they head towards that. The last big group I saw was heading east_ "

Rick looked towards Daryl as he spoke again, "East?"

" _Yeah, man_ "

"...When was this?"

"... _Not that long ago, maybe an hour_?"

He used the antenna to poke at his head as he thought, "Alright, got it. Well keep an eye out for anythan' like that"

 _"Alright, man_ "

"Don't that mean they're coming this way?", Daryl rasped, slowly beginning to pace back and forth in the hallway.

"It's possible, they could very well be, but like he said, they follow whatever they can see or hear, so they could be heading off in a different direction…", Rick ran his tongue over his bottom lip as he thought, "I don't wanna' head out there looking for them because we could lead them back here-"

"We don't wanna' be like sitting ducks either"

"But if we hide out here, they can just keep going? We keep quiet, don't draw attention to ourselves… they might just roll on by"

Daryl began to nibble on his thumb nail like he often did when he was deep in thought, "With the kids? Andre? Demi? You think you can get them to be quiet for however long it takes them to move past?"

Rick ran his hands through his hair as it dawned on him that the plan could possibly backfire, "...Only if they're asleep"

"Say they do come this way, and we sit here hiding out, if they hear somethan' then we're surrounded here. Trapped"

"We're gonna have to sit down and talk to everyone about it", Rick backed up to the bedroom they were staying in, "We'll round everyone up in five minutes"

Rick's mind was beginning to race as he tried to think of the best possible way to handle the impending danger. He didn't want to rule out the possibility that they weren't in the path of the dead until he knew for certain, but the risks that came with that option were too great from him to consider alone.

"What's going on?", Judith quizzed, watching her father move around the room, while Andre and Demi slept in the bed beside her.

"Uh, nothing, I just need to talk to all the adults…", He was hoping to have a moment to himself so he could think, but stumbled upon his resting daughter instead, "You okay?"

"Yeah", She nodded her head as she closed the magazine on her lap, "Talk to all the adults about what?"

"Just what to do if somethan' went wrong here", He wasn't exactly lying, "We always have to be prepared for stuff like that. If thangs change then, we have to, too."

"That's what mama said"

Rick chuckled dryly adjusts he sat on the edge of the bed, "She's always one step ahead of me, huh?"

"Yeah", Judith grinned at him.

He had planned to speak to Judith alone after their awkward encounter outside the bathroom, and while it wasn't the ideal time, he took the opportunity to anyway, "Do you feel like you can talk to me about anythan', sweetie?"

Judith's eyes darted away from him for a second, "Kinda'..."

"Not everythan' then?"

"...Most things"

"But you know that you can? Even if you feel uncomfortable, or you're not sure how I'll react, I'll always try my best to help, alright?"

Judith tipped her head to the side as she gave her response, "You're a boy, dad"

"I'm aware of that, and I know that I won't be able to relate to some of the stuff that you're going through as a young girl but I'm still here regardless"

"I know that, but you're _still_ a boy", She repeated flatly.

"So that's the only reason you wouldn't talk to about somethan'? Because I'm a boy?"

"Yep. That's the only reason"

Rick wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that, but nonetheless, he was glad that she was at least speaking to him about why she wouldn't speak to him, and so he had to accept that, "Alright then, I understand that, but you're still my-"

" _Sweet little angel, and my only girl_ ", Judith repeated sweetly, mimicking her father perfectly.

Rick eyed her with a blank expression momentarily, before finally speaking, "Do you and your mother practise how I sound behind my back? Is that what you do?"

Judith erupted with laughter, "You're so funny, daddy"

His heart swelled in chest as he watched her, and for that brief moment, he felt as if everything in the world was right again. He held out his arms, and she easily fell into them, "I'm glad I can still make my sweet little angel, princess, honey-bee, and apple of my eye, laugh"

Glenn peaked his head around the bedroom door when he opened it, giving them an apologetic look, "Are they still sleeping?"

"Yeah", Rick peaked over his shoulder at the toddlers, "Out for the count"

"Alright, Daryl said you wanted to-"

"Yeah, I'm coming", Rick tipped his head and gave Judith a kiss on the forehead, "You lay down and get some rest, your grandmother will probably be in here soon enough"

"Okay", She chimed back.

"I can't wait 'till the girls are old enough for me to have little talks with them", Glenn expressed eagerly when Rick stepped out into the hall with him, after catching the tail end of their affectionate display.

Rick sighed as they made their way towards the front porch, ready confess that he was certain that he was living in his own personal hell watching Judith grow up, but instead he responded dryly, "Yeah, it's great"

The other members of the group hung around of the front of the house, all sharing the same pensive look as they waited for an explanation. Rick wasn't able to settle on a decision in the short time since he initially heard the news, leaving him feeling uneasy as he approached the others. He looked in Michonne's direction, where she was stood with Andrea by the porch rail, and he remembered what she had said to him earlier morning, which helped him to relax to some degree. Knowing that she thought he was doing well leading their group helped reassure him that he had made good decisions so far, and more than anything, it assured him that they were on the same page.

"Everythan' alright?", Hershel quizzed, resting his hands at his sides as he stood with Patricia.

Rick copied his stance, "Well, we spoke to Shane earlier on the-"

The sound a shotgun popping off caused all the heads to whip around, eyes darting in every direction, before another shot was fired. Daryl was the first to sprint off the porch, followed by Rick and Glenn as they tried to find the source of the shooting.

"Might be Merle!", Daryl barked over his shoulder as he started for the back of the house, and Rick continued to follow him with Glenn in tow.

He soon discovered that he wouldn't have the chance to come to a decision with the help of the others. The large crowd of bodies piled up by the fence, pushing against the warped wood as they tried their best to break the barrier, while Merle stood nearby, shooting sporadically at everything and anything but their heads, "Y'all better get over here and help me before they break through this-".


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

 _'I need to find them'_

"We should wait here, they wouldn't go back into town would they?"

Michonne's hands trembled as she stared down the highway, biting her thumb nail as she paced, "No. They wouldn't"

"So hey, we'll just wait. It's okay", Andrea insisted softly, not one to miss the uncertainty in her tone, "The kids are asleep, so we can just wait, it's fine"

Michonne could hear her best friends reassuring words but they did nothing to soothe her racing mind, "We weren't that far ahead of them..."

"Anything?", Sasha quizzed, appearing from the other side of the vehicle with concern written all over her face.

"No. Not yet", Andrea sighed, folding her arms over her chest, "Are the kids okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine", Sasha hurried to answer, "Listen, I want to go back and check the farm"

Michonne held her breath as she turned to her worried friend, while Andrea wasted no time replying, "It's way too dangerous, you saw the place"

"We can't just stand here and do nothing", Sasha stressed, motioning towards the direction they had just came from, "Most of our group is missing"

Michonne raked her fingers through her hair as she gathered her reply, "We wait. It hasn't been that long, and we have five kids between the three of us. There's no way we can split up or really do anything, we have a lot at stake here"

"She's right, Sash", Andrea nodded in agreement, "We just need to wait it out for a while"

Sasha looked towards the horizon with a stern expression, her chest rising and falling slowly she muttered reluctantly, "Alright"

Michonne continued to pace, so sick with worry that she felt as if she would empty the little contents that she had in her stomach.

When she initially saw the large group of corpses making their way across the field, she rushed to get the children in the nearest car since there were too many for them to take on. With everyone scattering to gather their things to leave, it was hard to focus on anything else but their children's safety. She took some comfort in knowing she saw Carl and Glenn getting Susan in a car with Rick not far behind them, before Andrea sped off the farm, but still she worried.

The faint sound of a cry tore her from her thoughts, and she rushed to the car to check on the culprit.

"I don't know what to do", Lily quickly announced, trying to rock a miserable Demi in her arms, with Cleo sat beside her, and Judith on the other end, holding a curious looking Andre, "She woke Andre up"

"It's okay, give her here", Michonne reached in and took the toddler from her, speaking in a soothing tone, "Alright… it's okay, I know you're grumpy"

"Is my dad here yet?", Lily questioned, sticking her head put the car to look down the road.

"Yeah, where's daddy? And Carl?", Judith added, pulling one of her stray curls from Andre's grip.

"We're still waiting", Michonne insisted, smoothing Demi's hair back from her face, "Don't worry"

"Mommy!", Andre held his hands out for his mother, angry that she would dare lavish any affection on anyone else but him.

"Andre, look!", Judith tried to distract him, giving him an exaggerated smile, "Look who's sitting next to us! It's Cleo!"

"Hi", Cleo waved at him, giving him a sweet smile that was almost identical to her father's, her long black hair flowing wherever she turned.

Andre's face crumbled in displeasure, and he slapped a hand in Judith's face as he pushed away from her, " _No_! Mommy! My mommy!"

"Alright, hold on", Michonne insisted in a firm whisper, hoping to calm him from where she stood, "I'm coming, okay?"

"Shit", She heard Andrea hiss from on top of a nearby car, taking her time to climb down, "I think I can see a few things heading this way"

"We can't leave", Sasha argued from the other side of the truck, looking at Michonne from the open driver seat door, "They aren't back yet"

She bit her lip, trying to see past the cars scattered on the street. She huffed, handing Demi back to Lily and quickly shutting the door, "There must be something in the back of this truck…"

"There's like four of them", Andrea informed, sprinting up to join them, "Do we have any weapons here?"

Michonne opened the trunk door and began to rummage around the random assortment of items before she breathed, "Yes…"

"What? Can you use that?"

She pulled the katana free, "We haven't got a choice, lock the doors-"

"What? No! Are you crazy?!", Andrea grabbed her arm to stop her, "We can just drive around until they go, then come back-"

"We don't have petrol to waste and if we get stuck somewhere then we need to be able to protect ourselves", Michonne insisted firmly, "Now lock the doors"

"Oh my god", Andrea groaned, though she still left to do as she was told.

Michonne gripped the handle tight to stop her hands from trembling as she marched down the highway towards the four corpses that stumbled into the road. She was terrified, especially as she was going it alone, but felt she had more reason to stop them now, rather then they were close.

She left some distance between them, walking back and forth so that she could lead them away from each other and tackle them one by one. The first one was a tall male, growling viciously as he tried to grab her, so she use the tip of the sword to stab it through the neck, then backing away to he didn't fall on her. The second swiftly started for her, and she spun around, swinging the blade through its head, managing to catch the third with the manoeuvre.

The fourth took its time as the woman was sporting a broken ankle, her foot barely hanging on, so Michonne had time to aim the blade, stabbing her between the eyes.

Relief washed over her, though she still shook with fear, but she was glad she managed to handle them alone. After cleaning the blade on the shirt of the last corpse she killed, she walked back to truck, where Sasha and Andrea watched on with impressed looks, though Judith didn't look anywhere near as pleased.

"That was dangerous, mama", She pointed out firmly, holding a squirming Andre on her lap as she looked out the window at her, "Daddy won't like that"

Michonne huffed, unable to count how many times she found herself on the receiving end of Judith's scolding, "I know, but I handled it"

Judith peered down at the weapon she held, "Where did you get it from? How come you know how to use it?"

"...I found it, and I don't know how to use it", She sighed, slipping it back in its sheath, "But I'm going to learn"

Judith furrowed her dark brows at her, "How?"

"Practice. Just… lots of practice"

"On those all those sick people?"

Michonne froze, her eyes darting back and forth between the three girls who looked at her from the back seat. Taking a deep breath, she glanced around before moving closer to the vehicle so she could lower her voice, "I need you girls to understand that those people, aren't really people anymore-"

"My dad said they're dead", Lily blurted out, letting Demi toy with the silver necklace she wore.

Judith looked blankly at Lily, "They can't be dead? Then how are they still walking around?"

"He said he don't know but he had to shoot 'em the head", Lily shrugged, before shrinking in her seat when she remember Michonne was there, "I heard them talking about it…"

"Well, you're not wrong Lily, and your dad was right because they are technically… dead", Michonne sighed, squinting at the girls, "They get bit or scratched and then they get really-"

"Like grandpa?", Judith's blue eyes glistened as she peered at her mother, piecing the information together.

"Yes. Like grandpa", Michonne confirmed with a heavy heart, "And they die… but then they come back, and that's why I had to kill them again because they will hurt us. That's why we came out here and why we have to keep moving because a lot of people have died and it's not safe right now, but we will keep you safe, and you need to keep each other safe. We can't make too much noise and if you see one then you stay close and you get away from it"

Judith's mouth hung open for a few moments, while Lily just shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Michonne could see that everything she had said went right over Cleo's head, but still the girl nodded enthusiastically.

"I told you what needs to happen Judith, and now I'm telling the rest of you, we need to learn to look after ourselves and each other, that's how we stay safe", Michonne looked at them with hard, determined do everything she could to protect them, "Okay?"

"...Yeah", Lily gruffed, sounding like her father.

Judith was evidently shocked to learn the harsh truth but the girl had her father's inability to show fear, so she snapped her mouth shut and nodded, while Cleo chimed proudly, "Yes, aunt Mimi"

"Great", Michonne flashed her a warm smile, hoping she was able to come across as calm and collected, though she was racked with worry and fear, and she would have appreciated the chance to scream out her frustrations.

She tussled with the idea of waiting on the highway for the others to appear, or returning to town to find them. While she agreed to wait on there, she hated standing around staring into the horizon, hoping to see a glimpse of a familiar vehicle. She forced herself to have faith in the others, insisting that they got out safe as well, but still she worried, desperate to see Carl and Rick in one piece, not to mention the others.

It was obvious to her that Sasha was plagued with the same thoughts as Michonne watched her march around the vehicle, playing look out, while Andre resorted to standing on a nearby car once again. Michonne felt compelled to behave how her husband would have, to keep everyone calm while planning the next step, but as the sky started to bruise from the sunset, she only had little time left to decide what to do.

"We can't wait out here like this", She pointed out to Sasha and Andrea in a hushed tone, all three of them peering around as they spoke, "We're too exposed"

"But we can't leave either", Sasha countered, crossing her arms over her chest, "You said so yourself, they could still come by here"

"I know. I don't want to miss them either, but we don't have any food, and the car isn't sound proof, if one of the kids makes a noise, which they probably will, then we'll be like sitting ducks"

"We need to find somewhere to hold up for the night", Andrea summarised, setting her hands on her hips, "But there isn't anywhere to go"

"We passed a truck on the way up here. One of those eighteen wheelers, did you see it?", Sasha suggested, using her thumb to point behind her, "Not even a mile back"

Michonne squinted down the road, "I think so…"

"What, should we take it back into town?", Andrea frowned, her eyes darting back and forth between her friends, "Won't that draw a lot of attention to us?"

"It's higher up than the car", Michonne tipped her head towards the vehicle next to her, "We can all squeeze in the cabin if it's empty. Sleep there for the night. We can still look out for them from their"

"I say we have a plan", Sasha urged, already stepping towards the driver's side of the car, "I'll drive"

"Alright"

Michonne took a seat beside her, while Andrea sat in the trunk of the car, and they swiftly travelled back up the street to find the truck that Sasha had seen. Bar Judith and Lily, the children were largely uninterested with what was going on around them, and Michonne was secretly thankful that Demi and Cleo felt so comfortable without their parents that they didn't make a fuss. She could remember seeing that Beth had gotten Ally before they left the farm, while Maggie did her best to pull her father to safety, but the man was reluctant to leave. Michonne knew that everyone had taken a moment to try and explain to Hershel what was happening around them, and she naively believed that he understood what they were up against, but as Hershel had never seen any of the dead people they spoke of, he found it hard to digest.

Michonne was sure he would understand after seeing his farm overrun with them.

Nonetheless, the women successfully found somewhere to rest for night when they pulled up beside the truck, and even though the future was still so uncertain, they still managed to kill two birds with one stone.

"Look at all this", Andrea sighed with relief as they looked in the back of the truck, where they discovered boxes and boxes of food were stacked on top of each other, "Thank god!"

"We definitely need to take this truck with us", Michonne huffed, putting her foot on the edge to climb inside, "There's cans… cereal… pasta..."

"Get the cereal for the kids, they can fill up on that for now? We don't have a can opener or anything to cook with so it will do. And get me those chips"

"Yeah…", Michonne nodded, pulling the clear wrapper from the box, "Good idea"

"...Hey?", Andrea called softly after surveying the area around them for some time, "You think I did the right thing back there?"

"Back where?", Michonne frowned as she pulled a cereal box free.

"...At the farm"

She had to look at her best friend, trying to decipher what she meant as she eyed her suspiciously, "...You mean-"

"Yeah. Are you mad at me for that? Or do you think it's my fault we're in this position now?"

Michonne was clearly perplexed by her friend's train of thought, "What's going on?"

"...I'm getting that impression from Sasha. I think she's mad that she doesn't know where her husband is, and I think she blames me…. And I'm wondering if you feel the same?"

It was a loaded question, the type that Michonne had to think long and hard about before answering, "...I wish we could have waited a little closer to the farm until they caught up… but we weren't safe there… or anywhere near there, and I think Sasha knows that"

Andrea peered up at her with a difficult expression to read, "But do you think she's mad at me? Are you mad at me?"

Michonne shook her head, "No. Not at all. I don't think she is either. You know how Sasha gets when she's worried, especially about Daryl, but she's grateful, and I'm grateful that we go the kids out of there. Now we just have to find the others"

Andrea appeared to relax to some degree, "...Yeah. We'll find them. We have too."

Michonne didn't think her friend was experiencing any guilt over leaving the farm with haste, but she was still truthful with her response, as she did wish that they had waited until the others caught up, but she couldn't allow herself to fret over on what could have been done differently. Not in that moment.

The cabin had a small sleeping area behind the seats and a bunk above, which Lily excitedly took with Cleo. Sasha sat on the floor between the two seats while Michonne and Andrea used them, staring out the windshield blankly, though they occasionally looked out the side mirrors, keeping an eye out for any threats.

"We're going to need diapers", Michonne announced, rubbing her forehead tiredly, "There's one left"

"Maggie grabbed the other diaper bag", Sasha informed flatly, her eyes barely open, "I think now's a good time to start potty training"

Andrea smirked, "I don't think we have much of a choice"

Michonne sighed as she sat back, looking at the keys in the ignition in front of her, "...It shouldn't take them this long to come this way...I think they might of held up somewhere, waiting for us"

"...What? Like, with Shane?", Andrea tilted her head to look at her.

Michonne's face contorted with disbelief, "Rick wouldn't. Not with Lori there"

"But what if they went there thinking we went there? He knew that we were both in favour of grouping up with them"

Sasha's brows sprung up, her face coming to life, "That's true?"

Michonne thought it over for a short moment, doubting that Rick would still head to Dale's bar, but then there was a possibility that he could have. Her knee began to bounce from the anxiety she felt, "...Tomorrow we'll head back into town bright and early. They might be there waiting for us or… they might have stopped by-"

"Anything could have happened", Sasha finished for her, "But we won't know until we get there"

Michonne automatically nodded, her gaze darting along the windshield aimlessly, "Yeah. You're right"

Staying up for most of the night was fairly easy, as Michonne couldn't dare sleep. She was exhausted, her body crying out for some sort of rest, but trying to sleep with a busy mind was near impossible. Sasha seemed to be having the same problem, only drifting off for a few minutes at a time before waking up again.

By the time the sun began to rise Michonne was anxious to get a move on, eager to start their search for their loved ones. She even snuck out to the back of the truck to retrieve more food for the children so they could eat on the go.

"That's everything", Andrea huffed, holding a bottle of pills and water in her hand as she got comfortable in the passenger seat, "I locked it so we can come back and get it if we need to. We'll have to pass it if we leave town anyway… and hopefully we will need it"

Michonne hummed a response as she tried to get familiar with all the gears and buttons surrounding the driver's seat, "Great"

"...Just pretend you're driving a really big car", Andrea offended sardonically whilst she watched her fidget, "I really big car with a lot of wheels. And a big ass"

" _Ass_!", Demi repeated from the bottom bunk with glee, clapping her hands together while she smiled, making Lily giggle beside her.

The three women groaned in unison, and Sasha spoke up first, "Hopefully she doesn't say that when we give her back to her parents"

Michonne could only sigh as she began to move the large wheel in front of her, surprised that the truck required a little more force than a car but it wasn't as difficult as she feared.

"Mama… I think Andrea needs changing", Judith called from the bottom bunk, pinching her nose as she turned away from the toddler.

"Can you check him? It might just be a warning?", Michonne instructed, raising her voice so she could hear her.

Judith held her brother up in the air and began to sniff around his rear, while he giggled happily, "Stop it, Judy!"

"It wasn't him!", Lily announced, holding Lily up in the air also, "It was definitely her!"

Sasha turned back to the children with a little huff, "I guess this is a good time to teach you girls how to change a diaper"

"My daddy won't like that", Judith issued innocently, shaking her head, "He said I shouldn't change a diaper until I'm forty"

Sasha whipped around to look back at Michonne, a frown forming on her face, "Why-"

"No boys, no marriage and no babies, until she's forty, that is. Somehow he's found a link between changing a diaper and teen pregnancy?", Michonne informed dryly, fighting the urge to roll her eyes, "You're going to have to learn Judith, don't worry, your father will understand"

Andrea shook her head with despair as she eyed Michonne, "He had Carl when he was-"

"Yes, but you should know by now that what Rick did and what he will allow the kids to do are two very different things", Michonne pointed out with a small smile, "Remember when I caught Carl and Lauren?"

"Oh boy, I remember that look on his face", Sasha began to smile too as she retrieved the last diaper, "I thought he was going to put Carl in a hospital bed beside, too"

"He would have if there weren't so many witnesses", Michonne snickered, easily conjuring up the image of her angry husband in her mind, but her smile soon vanished, feeling her chest grow tight with worry. She put a little more pressure on the pedal, returning to her anxious state as she breathed, "I need to find them"

Andrea watched her with a sorrowful look, "We will. All of them. We have to and we will"

Michonne automatically nodded in agreement for a second time, but shifted her focus to the small stretch of highway left ahead of them.

She was going to find her family, and as Andrea said, she had to. This new world was difficult to navigate and she needed her husband and her oldest son more than ever, but she was willing to summon any shred of bravery she had to protect her children and friends, and piece her group back together.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

" _I think you just need me sane_ "

"Aye, Rick? Rick? Can you hear me, man?"

Rick struggled to focus on the set of hard brown eyes in front of him, too disoriented to respond quickly, "Huh? What? W-where's-"

"You need to get inside. All of you do, you can't be out here making all this noise… it's not safe", Shane grabbed him by the arm and hiked him up from his knees, "Come on-"

"N-no", Rick pulled away from Shane, shaking his head furiously as he found his balance, "No. My wife and my kids- and I need to find them now-"

"I know, but y'all just…", Shane huffed as he put his hands at his sides, "Y'all just got here and look. Look at yourselves. You need a minute… they need a minute"

The word they struck a chord with Rick, and despite the fact that he could hear the muffled cries clear as a bell nearby, he refused to turn around, "They need to stay here. Let them stay here, I need to go-"

"You need to sit down too! Ain't no use in you going out there now if you're just stumbling around the place", Shane argued firmly, "All of you just- look, I know, I know you want to get out there but we need to figure somethan' out first. I'll help you, hell, I'll come with you. You've helped me and my family out in the past and I'm ready to return the favour, but just come in, tell me what happened"

Rick stared past Shane with cold, vacant eyes. He wasn't sure what was more overwhelming; hearing his friend's howls of pain as they wept, or the need to leave and find the rest of his family.

"Come on, man. We're gonna' get them inside, too… it's gonna' be real dark out here soon and we can't do nothing then"

He didn't move, instead he just rasped, "Carl? Where is he?"

"I sent him in with your mother", Shane answered easily, "But he's waiting on you, I can tell, he's waiting on you to tell him what to do next"

Rick knew exactly what he wanted to do next, but it didn't involve his son. He wouldn't even entertain the idea of taking Carl with him.

"Just sit down for a minute, and tell me what happened. We'll make our plan from there"

The sobs seemed to die down, and for a split second Rick thought it was safe to turn around, so he did, and he immediately regretted the decision.

A distraught Glenn knelt on the ground, similar to how Rick was only moments ago, but instead he cradled his oldest daughter's lifeless body, holding her to his chest, while an equally broken Maggie held her head, kissing her forehead between little gasps for air. Both were covered in Ally's blood from their desperate attempts to save her, but to no avail. Rick looked away again, unable to stomach the sight for too long, even though it was already burned into his memory.

"Let them stay here", He demanded, his voice breaking mid-sentence, "I t-think there's some stuff in the cars- just let them stay"

"You're all welcome to stay", Shane insisted sternly, "But we need to get inside. It ain't safe out here like this"

Rick knew he was right, and he was sure that Maggie's cries would have acted like a dinner bell to anything in the area. He forced himself to turn back around, summoning strength he didn't just know he had to walk in his friend's direction. Daryl stood nearby pacing, his head low and dark locks covering his face so it was impossible to see what was going through the man's mind. Hershel stood with Beth by the door to the bar, holding on to a weeping Beth as they both watched helplessly from the side-lines.

Rick passed them all with slow steady strides and crouched close to Glenn and Maggie, refusing to look anywhere else but their faces. He spoke softly, "...W-we need to take care of her. You have to…"

Glenn looked straight through him, while Maggie made no attempt to look at him, or even give him any indication that she heard him.

"...We'll clean her up. We'll take her inside and we'll clean her up properly but you… we have to take care of her", Rick urged as lightly as he could, "You have to. You don't want to see her change… you don't"

Rick knew Glenn heard him when his face crumbled, and the tears fell hard and fast as he held Ally even tighter.

Rick's eyes fell on the child's body and his chest caved. He couldn't blame Maggie and Glenn for hanging onto their daughter because he would have done the same, he wanted to do the same. Having been present for most of Ally's short life, he felt as if he was looking at one of his own children, and the pain was enough to make tears stream down his face.

"My babies…", Maggie breathed, her trembling hands combing through Ally's hair for a countless time, "...All my babies are gone"

Rick sniffed as he shook his head, running his hand over his face, "No. They're not gone"

He knew his words were pointless for the moment, but he wanted them to know that he was thinking of them too.

The sound of familiar growls became more clear, and Rick retrieved his weapon without hesitation as he stood, "Everybody inside! Now!"

Shane and Daryl were at his side in the blink of an eye, and the three acted as a barrier to Maggie and Glenn as Hershel rushed to help them inside.

Rick was quickly becoming tired of fighting the dead, wondering how many others they might lose with each passing day. He knew the time would come when he would need his wife desperately, but he never thought it would come so soon. He could only hope that she had their two younger children somewhere safe with the others, and that they would wait for him to find them. He dreaded the thought that she was out looking for him, knowing that there was always the chance that she was.

Once the three men cleared the front of the building, they headed inside where the two groups had sought refuge. Rick could immediately see that Carl was itching to come up with a plan of action, ready to search for his mother and siblings, but Rick knew he would have to talk his oldest child into staying put. His mother was sat with Patricia, both older women too shaken up to speak, or thank Carol for the cups of tea she brought them.

Then he noticed Lori and Milly sat on the far side of the bar, both looking on with worried expressions. Rick didn't pay them too much attention, as he had more important matters at hand.

"I let them take her, Ally, into the back room… I told Daryl", Dale informed softly when he approached Rick, "But… they might want to... "

"They know", Rick replied flatly, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, "Daryl… he'll be there to help"

"Okay", Dale nodded, looking a little disorientated himself, "Uh, the others? Where… do you have any idea where they might have gone?"

Rick shook his head mindlessly, his eyes darting all over the place, "No… but I'll find them"

Dale looked at Rick sceptically, "Uh, are you hurt? Do you need a drink? You can rest here-"

"I'm fine", He glanced behind him towards his son, "Carl, come on. Give me a second, Dale"

"Yeah, sure go ahead"

Carl was on his feet in flash, and didn't hesitate to follow his father up the stairs until they reached the rooftop. Rick headed straight for the ledge so he could keep a look out while he spoke to his son, "Listen, I'm gonna' head out… maybe in the morning-"

"I know, I'm coming with you", Carl insisted firmly, as if he knew his father would try to leave without him.

"No", Rick shook his head adamantly, "That's not happening"

"That's happening, dad", Carl shot back, leading Rick to look at his son with a single brow raised. Carl slowly inhaled, taking some of the base out of his tone, "I want to come with you. I can help, you know that I can"

"I do know that you can, that's why I want you here-"

"You want me here because you're scared I'll get hurt"

"You're damn right I'm scared you get hurt", Rick cocked his head to the side, "You think I could stand it if somethan' happened to you? Do you- do you know that I'm so close to losing my mind right now? I don't know where your mother is, I don't know where your brother is- your sister hasn't even fully healed yet, she could have passed out or somethan'- so yeah, Carl. I'm petrified that somethan' will happen to you too"

His son watched him closely with glistening eyes before finally repeating, "I can help you, dad"

"You can", Rick nodded, running his hands down his face, "And I need you to help me by staying here, please? I'm asking you to just stay here, and help look after your aunt and uncle because they need it more than me right now"

Carl snapped his eyes shut, forcing a tear to fall, "...Yeah. I got it…"

"Thank you", Rick smacked a hand on Carl's shoulder and pulled him into a bear hug, which was meant to comfort the both of them for the time being, "I'm gonna' head out of town, just in case they went out that way…"

"What if they went back to the farm?", Carl asked, his voice muffled.

"I'll check, I'll check everywhere. I was hoping they came here but… I don't know"

They ended their embrace, and Carl quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, "Do we have guns?"

"We got most of them… if the farm isn't overrun then we'll go back in and get as much as we can"

"...Grandma's scared", Carl pointed out quietly, "I know she is"

Rick bit his lips together for a moment as he nodded, "Yeah, I think everyone is"

Rick was too, but he wasn't prepared to admit that just yet.

The two males made their way back down to the bar, where Rick pulled Shane aside to hash out a plan, and they were later joined by Daryl, who gave Rick a small nod to signal that Glenn and Maggie had taken care of their daughter. Rick forced himself to focus, trying to keep a firm hold on reality but the overwhelming feeling of sorrow threatened to crush him.

He didn't even sleep that night, instead he just roamed the building like one of the dead, occasionally going up on the roof to look out at the bare streets, hoping to see a glimpse of something, anything that could possibly suggest to him that his family were still alive.

"So we're heading right out of town?", Shane quizzed as he stared at Rick the next morning.

"Yeah. If they didn't come here then there isn't anywhere else here that they would go. They have no reason to go back to any of the houses", Rick explained, slipping bullets into his colt python while he tried to fight the tiredness that threatened to take hold of his body.

"They could have pulled up on the highway and waited for us. That's what I would have done", Daryl finally rasped, after being quiet through most of the meeting.

"Yeah", Rick agreed.

"No chance of them heading back to the farm?", Shane asked, straightening up to rest his hands at his sides.

"Possibly but we have to pass the farm to get to the highway so… we'll see"

"Dad?", Milly called quietly from the doorway, her long brown hair falling past her shoulders, "Mom's hands are shaking again…"

Rick and Daryl looked from Milly to Shane with questioning expressions, but the man kept his eyes on his daughter as he nodded, "Alright, I'm coming"

"Okay", Milly spun on her heel and walked away, her footsteps disappearing up the hall.

Shane cleared his throat as he picked up one of the weapons off the table, "She uh, she panics…"

Rick slowly nodded as he eyed him suspiciously, "Right…"

Shane pulled the rifle strap over his head as he marched out the room, leaving Rick and Daryl to continue to ready themselves in silence. Rick didn't feel it necessary to say anything, because he knew his best friend was battling similar thoughts to his own, worrying about his own family. It was just as they began to leave the room that they heard heavy footsteps pounding their way down the hall towards them, then Carl appeared breathless, "Dad, there's a bunch of them in the front"

"At the front of the bar?", Rick clarified.

Carl nodded, "I saw them from the roof-"

"They're banging on the glass!", Carol yelled from further down the hall, "I don't know where they came from! I just looked outside and they-"

"Come on!", Rick roared, already sprinting past his son, "We'll sneak out the back and lead them away!"

His heart thumped hard, adrenalin already coursing through his veins as he barked orders to everyone in his sight. Daryl was right behind him, rifle over his shoulder and hunting knife in his hand. They went straight for the back door, where Shane was already waiting, "Let's go!"

The three of them snuck out and ran stealthily along the building, ready to run in the other direction once they reached the street, when the three of them stopped, hearing the sound of an approaching vehicle and the growls of the dead. Rick frowned, inching forward when a truck mounted the pavement, tearing through everything in its path. The men were frozen in shock for only a short while, drawing their weapons as they prepared to investigate.

Corpses were tangled in the many wheels of the vehicle, some still trying to make a grab for the men while others were definitely dead. Rick had his python raised, pointing it towards the cabin as he moved closer towards it. He didn't know what or who he was expecting, but he was ready for anything.

"Naughty Mommy!"

Rick felt as if his heart skipped a beat when he heard the familiar little voice, leading him to pick up pace just as the large, heavy door swung open. To see Michonne poke her head out the doorway, looking around with a slight look of panic in her eyes filled Rick with utter relief, "Oh my god-"

"It's them!", Daryl shot around Rick, followed closely by Shane, and they swiftly helped Michonne out the cabin, and she made a dash for Rick as soon as she was on the ground.

"Where's Carl?!", She demanded, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"He's fine, he's inside", Rick held her tight as he watched Shane lift Judith free and place her on the ground, "They're okay?"

"They're fine. We're fine", She insisted, breaking away to look him over, "You're okay?"

"I'm not", He confessed, feeling even more relief to see all the children come spilling out of the truck. Judith hurried over to him as soon as she had Andre, and Rick gathered all three of them in his arms, "You're all okay?"

"Daddy!", Andre cheered, looking past him excitedly, "Carl!"

Michonne released Rick and raced for the teen, leaving him to pepper Judith and Andre with kisses, "I'm so glad you're okay"

"Daddy did you see what mama did? She drove right through 'em", Judith lifted her head to look up at him with wide eyes, "And she's been fighting them with a sword"

"Yeah?", Rick almost chuckled, "She's been looking after you then?"

"Yep, Aunt Drea called her a badass"

"Ass!", Demi repeated with a smile from Daryl's arms as he carried her on one hip, while his other arm was wrapped around Lily.

Rick was so happy to see them all alive and well that he didn't care about their language. He hugged and kissed everyone in his sight, even Andrea, barely able to conceal the whirlwind of emotions that swept through him.

…

"...I think she wanted to go with you guys. She must have seen all the kids in the car and… she got out and ran. Beth ran after her… Maggie ran after her… it all happened so fast. Before I knew it she was just gone… just lying in his arms…"

Rick could feel his wife's tears seeping through his t-shirt but still he rubbed her back beneath her tank top, holding her close as they sat in one of the booths in the bar. It was dark outside, their kids slept upstairs, while a few of the adults crept around throughout the building. Maggie and Glenn were elated to be reunited with their other two daughters, having thought they lost them all.

"Somethan' about seeing a child- a child I've seen grow up from this little… little bundle, to a happy little girl who always wanted to follow Judith and Lily and round… just gone, she didn't even stand a chance. It wasn't fair. And hearing Maggie cry like that… I think it'll haunt me for a long time"

"...Where are they putting her?", Michonne asked lightly, her voice thick with emotion.

"I think Dale said in the back… by the flowers in the yard…", Rick blew out a breath as he kissed the top of her head for a countless time, "I can't even begin to explain how proud I am of you… how proud I am that I have such a strong, fearless wife-"

"I've been scared, Rick", Michonne insisted softly, "This whole time I was-"

"But you made it back here with all of them, Judith told me what you've done, what you all did, and I was ready to fall apart but you didn't-"

"I would have if you weren't here", She sighed, tipping her head back to look at him, "I don't even know what I would've done if you weren't here… But you're okay now?"

Rick frowned at the wall of shelved alcohol in front of him, "After seeing Maggie and Glenn crying and… I don't know… I just checked out for a while, I couldn't focus, couldn't do anythan'..."

Michonne raised her hand to cup his jaw, her thumb brushing across his cheekbone, "It wasn't a nice thing to see. Even I'd hate to see them like that, it could easily happen to any of us… I think that's what I was scared of the most, losing one of the kids"

Rick snapped his eyes shut as the thought crossed his mind, "...I don't think I can do that again. I don't wanna' see any of us through that again…"

"No.", She shook her head as she placed her hand back on his chest, "...Which is why I think we need to leave here. We need to get away from the town, Rick"

"Yeah, I know"

"There's somewhere out there we can go. We need to find it"

"Well I think that truck should still be working fine… after you crashed it"

Her head whipped upwards to look at him, "I didn't crash it"

"You crashed it, Michonne"

"It wasn't on purpose", She hissed, "Do you know how hard it is to stop a truck that big? That was my first time even driving something like that-"

"I was so happy to see you all today that you could have ran me over with it and I wouldn't have cared. I'd die a happy man under any circumstance if the last thing I ever saw was you and the kids"

Michonne's mouth snapped shut as her annoyance was quickly replaced with adoration, "Oh, Rick"

"Carl wanted to come with me to find you, and I couldn't even bear the thought. I would have tied him up if I had to. I need you guys safe and sound, or else I can't do a thang"

"And we need you safe and sound, too", She pursed her full lips kissed the corner of his mouth.

"I think you just need me sane"

"That too."

"I need my pills! Now!", Rick and Michonne both stilled when they heard Lori's voice nearby, as if she were in the hallway, "Look at me, Shane! I'm losing my mind-"

"You're not, okay?", Shane reassured softly, "You just need to calm down and we'll get some. I'll head out tomorrow and see what I can find, but just get some rest for now, sleep as much as you need to-"

"I don't want to have another episode!", Lori sounded frantic, her voice travelling as if she was pacing.

"I know, I know. Come on, we'll get you some hot tea and you can lie down, alright? I think there might be somethan' left in my bag... I'll check, but if not then just go to sleep and I'll deal with it all tomorrow"

"...Yeah. fine, yeah"

Rick and Michonne listened as the footsteps trudged up the stairs, leaving the couple to share a little look of confusion, "What was that?"

"You know… Milly came by the room earlier and told Shane that her hands were shaking… he said somethan' about her panicking", Rick whispered, just in case anyone else was near.

Michonne looked towards the hallway again, "We need to keep an eye on that, Rick"

"We will", He held her tighter, "We have to keep an eye out on a lot of thangs".


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

"...I'm scared. I was scared before but now…now I'm petrified. Not for myself, but for them. All of them. It's just chewing me up inside… I haven't thought about anythan' else… I keep replaying it all in my mind, every single second of it. From the moment it... i-it grabbed her… to when she took her last breath. Every goddamn gut wrenching moment of it- it's haunting me. From the minute I open my eyes... that's all I can see"

Michonne sat quietly as she listened to her friend speak in whisper. Demi was fast asleep on Maggie's chest, while Cleo had curled up on the other half on the couch. Michonne sat on the floor in front of her with her hand on the brunette's knee, wishing to erase some of the pain she felt.

"...Daddy came in here earlier... And he said a prayer for her, for me, Glenn- everyone, but I couldn't join him, I wouldn't join him. Not right now. Not when my heart is still…", Maggie stopped when her voice broke. Her red, puffy eyes scanned the room aimlessly, "...I don't wanna' hear about God and I don't wanna' pray…I just want my baby back and I want my family whole again"

Michonne gently squeezed her friend's knee when the tears started to fall again, "You're _allowed_ to feel that way, Maggie"

"But not for long", Maggie sniffed as she wiped her face harshly with her free hand, "Things aren't getting better, they're getting worse. And we can't hold up here any longer than we did at Daddy's farm or your house"

That was something Michonne agreed with, "We're going to figure it out. I promise that we will-"

"Mama?", Judith called softly from the other side of the door.

Michonne looked at Demi and Cleo, not wishing to wake them if she called back to Judith, but Maggie quickly insisted, "Go on, it's fine"

"I'll just see what she wants", Michonne pushed herself off the rug and tip toed out the room to find Judith stood in the narrow walk way, her arms crossed over her chest. Michonne immediately frowned with concern, "What's the matter?"

Judith lowered her voice to a whisper, "Milly's mama's acting strange"

Michonne leant in closer, "Tell me"

Judith mimicked her, leaning even closer until their noses were only inches away, "We were all sitting upstairs, and I was sitting next to Milly and Lily, and her mama came in- she started snooping around like you do with daddy's stuff, looking around and moving thangs…"

A small smart of Michonne glowed with delight when she heard a familiar twang slip out of her daughter's mouth, but the large part of her was more concerned with the information she was providing, "She was just looking around?"

"She was but when she left, Milly said that it's because she's not feeling good…", Judith blinked at her mother as she waited for a reaction.

Michonne began to frown as she tried to link the previous night to the current situation, trying to understand what was going on with Lori. She placed a hand on Judith's arm, "Alright, well let me know if you see anything else strange-"

"I think grandma's hip is still hurting her", Judith spat out, "She told me not to say anything but she keeps holding her side…I think I saw a bruise on it when she was getting changed…"

Michonne's eyebrows shot up, "Really?"

"Yeah. That's all I know", Judith's shoulders sank as she finished divulging information. Her blue eyes rolled away from her mother and to the door behind her, "...Is Aunt Maggie, okay?"

Michonne shook her head, "No, not right now she's not"

Judith began to furrow her dark brows as she looked elsewhere.

Michonne squeezed her arm, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Her frown didn't go away, "...Is it weird that none of this feels real to me?"

Michonne eyed her daughter, "What do you mean?"

"It just…", Judith looked back at her mother, "I think I know what's going on, I saw what happened to Sharon… I know grandpa probably ended up like her… And I know Ally's gone, but…"

"It hasn't sunk in yet", She finished, figuring that's what her daughter was leading too.

"...No", Judith admitted, "Is that bad?"

"No. A lot has happened since that morning we were all in bed together", Michonne pulled her into a bear hug, "It's a lot to digest…"

"...I don't want anyone else to die", Judith confessed quietly.

Michonne rolled her eyes shut as she agreed, "Me neither. Which is why we all need to take care of each other, and you always need to listen- especially to Carl, okay? I mean, listen to anyone that's in charge but you definitely need to listen to Carl when we're not here, got it?"

"Got it."

"That's my girl.", She placed a tender little kiss in the girls wild curls as she held her tighter, hoping she would never find herself in her friends shoes. Seeing Maggie and Glenn so distraught was enough to make any parent conjure up their own dread.

"Mommy…", She heard the gentle call from her youngest, who was being carried up the stairs by his very tired looking father, "Ju-dee"

"There's Judy", Rick repeated as he turned onto the landing, his hair tousled and shirt crumbled, "You think you can sit with your brother for a little while?"

Judith broke away from her mother and raised her hands for the toddler, "Sure. Come on, Andre"

Michonne stood aside as Judith bounced her brother on her hip and made her way up the next floor, "I thought you were taking a nap with him?"

Rick groaned as he scratched his head, "I couldn't…"

She looked at her husband, "What is it?"

"...I feel like we shouldn't stay here any longer", He croaked, his bright blue eyes dull from exhaustion, "We need to spend this last night getting what we can from town and then tomorrow morning we hit the freeway."

Michonne slowly began to nod, "Sounds good."

He eyed her strangely for a moment, "Yeah?"

She returned the look, "Yeah, of course."

It was his turn to begin to nod, "Alright, we'll gather everyone up and let them know…"

"Hey", She called softly, placing her hand on his forearm, "What is it?"

Rick blew out a breath as he looked towards the nearest door, "...Just feel like I'm not doing enough to keep everybody safe…"

His words came as no surprise to her. She could see that losing Ally and possibly losing everyone else after the attack at the farm left him shaken. It had left them all shaken, but since her husband had appointed himself as head of the group, he would carry the weight of any loss differently. She huffed as she reached up and cupped his cheek, her signature move of affection. He held her hands against him as he turned his head slightly, so he could press a kiss on her palm. She spoke gently, "Cut it out"

A small, crooked smile appeared on his drained face, "Thanks"

"I mean it", She insisted, stepping closer to him, "You won't be able to save everyone, we know that… some things will be out of our control, but that doesn't mean you're not doing enough to keep everyone safe."

His eyes examined her face, "I can be the difference between what's in our control and what's not-"

"So can I. So can one of the kids- so can anybody else", She added firmly, "It's not all on you"

Rick exhaled as he looked away from her, his gaze darting aimlessly from one place to another, "Yeah."

Michonne knew he wasn't ready to accept her message. He had made up his mind that he wasn't doing enough and that was it. She removed her hand as she looked back towards the room were Maggie hid away, "I'll be in here, let me know when you plan on leaving"

"Alright."

It seemed like Maggie, Rick and Judith weren't the only ones in a daze that afternoon. Michonne noticed that everyone around her was floating around Dale's bar, just going through the motions. She figured that the death of a child could have that effect. Even she found herself sitting with a lump in her throat when she thought about it, but she couldn't be consumed by her emotions. She needed to stay alert and vigilant for the sake of the people around her, and if that meant pushing aside her grief stricken thoughts, then she'd do it.

Her husband did alert her when he had formed a small group, consisting of Daryl, Sasha, Carl and Glenn, who insisted he went with them in his heart broken state. Michonne didn't expect anyone to object and she wouldn't either; no one could tell him how he should be handling his daughter's death.

She watched them leave from the rooftop with a rifle in hand even though the streets were clear. She wasn't even sure that she knew how to use it properly but she knew where the trigger was, and that was enough.

"Is it clear?"

Shane's voice almost made her jump. She glanced behind her as he took a place at the ledge, "Yeah."

He nodded as his eyes examined the streets. He wore a deputy hat low, holding his own assault rifle, "Alright. Good."

She looked back towards the street just in time to see Glenn turn into an alleyway, and then worry began to set in.

"That's some boy y'all raised", Shane declared firmly as he continued to look elsewhere, "Carl...I bin watching him and he's… he's somethan'..."

Michonne huffed as she set the rifle down. She didn't think anyone else noticed how solid Carl was; his ability to remain calm under pressure amazed even her. Naturally she worried about him but not as much as she thought she'd would. His strength was evident and she wanted to support her son the only way she knew he'd want her too, by treating him like an adult. She finally responded to Shane's comments, "He is."

He adjusted his cap as he peered at her through narrowed eyes, "He'll go far if you let him."

"I know", She did, "I think we all can if we stick together."

He shook his head adamantly, "Nah… that's not true"

Michonne was surprised by his rebuttal, even if a part of her could understand why he thought otherwise, "It's not?"

"No. We won't all make it. Sometimes it doesn't matter how hard you stick together…", His dark brown eyes radiated something unfamiliar to her, "Some aren't cut out to make it. You can do everythan' you can to keep them safe but… It just doesn't work. And that's just how it is right now"

Michonne looked at him just as intensely as he looked at her, feeling it necessary to say to him, "Lori?"

His head pulled back an inch as he tensed, "What about her?"

She didn't break her stare. She was sure her look said it all.

Shane held a hand up as he stepped back, "Now look, I don't know what you think you heard or you-"

"Don't insult me.", Michonne ejected flatly.

Shane groaned as he began to shake his head, "With all due respect, and I mean that, I do respect you. I have a lot of respect for you, not just as Rick's wife but as Carl and Judith and Andrea's mother-"

"If that's the case, then don't insult me.", She repeated, "If something's going on that can affect the whole group, then we have a right to know"

"Well it doesn't, so you don't", He shot back easily, "And that's all"

"If it can put any of us in danger, and that includes Milly, then we have a right to know."

His nostrils flared as he blew out a breath, "Now Michonne, stop right there. I'll always protect my daughter. Always. I wouldn't even think twice about that-"

"Then do it. Protect her by letting us know what the problem is. If we know then we know how to help and we know what to look out for", She took a step closer to him as she lowered her voice, "That's how you protect someone. Rick isn't as healthy as he should be, and you may be one of the few people that know that, but you do know, so if anything were to happen to him then you know what that means and I'm sure you'd help him even if he didn't want your help- but that's how you help him. That's how you help me. If something is going on with Lori then you don't have to announce it to everyone but if you at least tell someone, then that someone will be able to help. That person can help you keep an eye on things and that person can alert you if something's not right so let us- let someone help you"

Shane began to shake his head again when he ripped of his hat, his eyes darting all over the place, "It's not that simple"

"I didn't say it was", She shrugged, "If it was then we wouldn't have to have this conversation."

The man put his hands at his sides as he bowed his head, and he remained that way for several moments before he mumbled loud enough for her to hear, "Its pills."

Michonne squinted at him, "What for?"

He scoffed, "...Everythan' you can think of."

Michonne bit her lip as she tried to understand what he was implying. It was difficult for her to recall if she had noticed a difference in Lori previously, as the two women never crossed paths, partly because her husband wouldn't allow them to. She cleared her throat, "Right. And now?"

"Well she's run out", Shane sniffed as he looked at her again, "She needs 'em"

She dropped her gaze to his heavy boots, "You plan on getting them for her?"

He scratched the side of her neck when he looked away from her for the last time, "I haven't decided yet"

"...I think you should let someone know if you plan to. And I think both of you should consider what it would mean if you can't get them… What it would mean for you, Milly… and her…", Michonne found herself tilting her head, trying to get his attention again, but he didn't look back at her. She could tell that he no longer wanted her opinion on his family so she sighed as she too looked back towards the street, "...If you do go then just don't sneak out of here… At least let one of us knows…"

It was evident that his ex's addiction was something he wanted to keep private, something he wanted to handle alone and Michonne didn't blame him for that. She could understand that a proud man like Shane saw it as the type of issue they dealt with as a family. She had seen that same stubbornness in her own family, particularly with Rick, so she liked to think that she knew how to approach it but Shane's unwillingness to accept help wasn't the problem; Lori was. She could be a liability to the group and that wasn't something Michonne was going to take lightly, but she found herself facing new difficulties.

While she believed that she and Rick were working together relatively well in the new climate and that they shared the same views on most obstacles, there were some topics that could easily put them at odds, and the Walsh family was one of them. The chances of Rick confronting Shane about Lori's addiction would be high and even though she liked to think that they could find a reasonable way to approach the subject, she knew it wouldn't be that simple and it left her questioning if it was even worth involving him, especially since he was currently battling with his confidence as a leader, so she decided that she would see what she could do on her own. Even though it was all unfamiliar territory for her, she knew that she could at the very least keep an eye on Lori and Shane.

"I'm just making somethan' light… there was some spam and tinned greens laying around so I thought I'd try to whip somethan' up… maybe we can have some pudding for dessert", Susan explained as she warmed up the vegetables on a portable cooker set up in the kitchen. It was deep into the afternoon and everyone had busied himself doing something, so she went looking for her husband's mother when she remembered what Judith had said that morning, "It's nothing fancy, but it'll fill us up"

Michonne walked up to her mother-in-law and stood beside her, examining what was in the pot, "That's fine. We'll be alright"

Susan sighed as she continued to stir the greens with one hand while the other rested on the table, "...I was thinking that we can make a lot of this stuff last if we're smart about it…"

Michonne peered at the older woman, noticing that her usually round face was slimmer, and her hairline was completely taken over by silver strands. Dare she say it, but she thought her mother-in-law looked frail. She spoke softly, hoping not to alarm her, "How are you?"

Susan rose an eyebrow at her as she continued to eye the pot, "You better tell me what brought you in here like this, looking' at me like that"

Michonne should have known that the woman would question her so she cut to the chase, "Judith told me you have a bruise on your hip."

The admission caught her attention, and Susan stopped stirring and looked towards the kitchen door, "I didn't realise my only granddaughter was spying on me and reporting back to you"

"Was it from the crash? That was almost weeks ago Susan- have you talked to Hershel? Does he know?", It was Michonne's time to question her, "Rick doesn't know- Judith only told me"

"Of course she only told _you_ ", Susan smirked as she shook her head, though her honey brown eyes did hover at the door for a moment as if she were in a daze, "Well don't you worry about it. I'm fine- we got bigger thangs to worry about-"

"Tell me, please?", Michonne took hold of her wrist before she could stir again, fearing the worst from her mother-in-law's behaviour, "Did you at least talk to Hershel about it?"

Susan stilled when she made eye contact with her, and Michonne's fears were confirmed in that second. Whatever the older woman was keeping secret wasn't just light news; much like Rick, his mother held everything in her eyes. Her thoughts, feelings and secrets were easy enough to read when you learnt how to read the signs. She let go of the spoon and placed a hand on top of Michonne's as she began to whisper, "...I need you to listen to me carefully, I know that you can so j-just listen. I don't want you getting yourself worked up or anythan' so just… let me talk, okay?"

Michonne's ears began to throb as her heart migrated to her throat, "I'm listening. I promise."

Susan hesitated, her eyes examining every part of her face, "There's nothing we can do about this. I talked to Hershel some time ago and he… he explained it all to me and- he knows how I feel so he's just helping me get by. I was going to sit you down and tell you but I- I guess I didn't want y'all to go out of your way to try to fix somethan' that I don't want fixed… After everythan' that happened with Aly… such a small and beautiful child- I just don't want any more time wasted on pointless thangs. You have to look after each other and those babies of yours"

Anticipation started to bubble away in Michonne's stomach.

"...I still don't understand what's happened to the world. It scares me and it doesn't make sense, but I do know that despite it all, I have the most fearless and strong family-", Her voice cracked so she paused, "I don't think I can love you all anymore if I tried. Every single one of you means so much to me and I hate knowing that… that I won't be able to protect any of you but I've accepted that it's just the way thangs go now. I saw that with Sharon. I saw that with Aly. I saw that with your father…"

Michonne's eyes stung as she clasped the woman's hands, "What is it? Can you please tell me?"

Susan shook her head regretfully, "I wish I could. Hershel thinks it's uh, Leukaemia? I think that's what he said- it's the first time I heard about it. I didn't know anythan' about it…We can't be sure, he obviously can't do any tests but he's… He said that everythan' is pointing to that"

Michonne couldn't tell if her heart was beating too fast or if it had completely stopped. She was hit with shock, then confusion, then shock again, "...Wait- if he's not sure then _we_ don't know for certain, so we can't just-"

"I'm old, Michonne", Susan chuckled sadly, giving her hands a squeeze, "I've lived in this body for some time now. I know when it's working properly and when it's not, and right now I know it's not. If I could stand here and tell you what I'm feeling then the night would come and go before I'm done. If it ain't that then it's somethan' else and to be honest with you… I don't need to know any more than that. I don't want another distraction from my family. I'm standing today and that's what matters to me"

Michonne could feel her chest tighten as she exhaled, her own set of brown eyes dancing around the room as she tried to think fast, "...We don't- you can't just-"

"Look at me please, honey", Susan placed a hand on her wet cheek and turned her head until Michonne was looking at her again, "It's okay. I asked you not to get worked up because I didn't want to see that. I haven't told my son because for that reason either. What I need for you to do is keep going when I am no longer here. I need both of you to keep going- And I need you to… to find my oldest boy and my other grandchild because I can rest peacefully knowing that both my sons have their families together and all of y'all are looking after each other-"

"I understand that, and we will, but just…", Michonne felt helpless as she shook her head, "Let us at least try to figure something out-"

"Michonne", The woman said her name with a familiar firmness, "That's not an option that I want any of you to take. I want you to put all your energy into your family, into finding somewhere safe. I want that to be our only worry. And I really just- I want to see my husband again"

Michonne's shoulders fell in defeat.

"I don't know what happens when you pass but I like to think that you get to be reunited with your loved ones, and the thought of not having to live another day without him… It means the world to me", Susan giggled as she wiped a tear away with the back of her index finger, "Lord knows I've missed that man. I'm so glad that he didn't have to see all of this."

The kitchen wasn't a small room but it felt tiny to Michonne as she tried to absorb the news that had rocked her world. She had so many questions but she ultimately felt as if she would never even get a chance to voice even half of them. The carpet had been ripped out from beneath her feet again and she was beginning to lose balance, "...I don't know what to say, Susan"

"Just promise me you'll look after that son of mine?", She breathed, visibly choked up, "I know my grandbabies' need you, and I don't doubt for a second that you'll be there for them but… they need both you as a unit and I know that he needs you. I don't want the two of you to be too tough on each other- I know that it's hard right now but the moment you allow thangs to eat you up is when it all falls apart, so both of you need to remember that you're partners in every sense of the word"

Michonne easily nodded as she roughly wiped her own tears away, "I know, I understand"

"This world could be yours if you're willing to do anythan' to protect each other", Susan huffed as she held both of Michonne's hands in hers, "And I don't think I could have gotten a better daughter even if God himself carved somethan' out with his bare hands. I hope you've always known that I've loved you like my own"

"I did. And I've always felt the same", She returned warmly, "Please promise me that you'll talk to Rick? It would crush him otherwise. The same goes for Carl and Judith-"

"I will, I just… I need a little time. Just look at me", The woman giggled as she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, "its hard enough just having this conversation with you, but… I will talk to them. I promise you that"

Michonne closed the space between them and gave her mother-in-law a loving embrace. She could immediately feel the difference in her body and that only caused her to cry more.

"Stop all that", Susan scolded lightly as she tenderly rubbed her back, "...I'm actually happy that you came and found me. I won't waste another day not telling any of you what you mean to me"

"You mean the world to us to", Michonne sniffed, trying to compose herself as she spoke, "And thank you for everything. I love you."

"I love you too, honey".

Michonne wasn't expecting to have such an emotional day, but it turned out that way. Her most prominent thought was her mother-in-law, and what it would mean to lose her. She would have no more parents left, and neither would her husband. She couldn't think of a greater loss that would push him over the edge, other than that of their children. None of them would take the loss of their matriarch lightly.

She sat in the bar once she had gotten Andre to sleep and encouraged Judith and Lily to do the same. She checked on Maggie and found her friend and her two youngest girls fast asleep. Everyone else mulled around, waiting for the others to return.

"...I'm gonna' head out."

Shane's voice made her jump for a second time that day. He strolled into the bar with his assault rifle in his hand, no longer wearing his hat. He looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, "I have to. Tomorrow morning… before we leave. The pharmacy ain't far… I'm alright out there on my own"

Michonne turned to face him on her stool, looking him from head to two as she nodded, "...And what happens when you can't get them anymore?"

Shane looked towards the boarded up windows and door as he walked towards the bar. He set his rifle down and took a seat three stools away from her, "...I'm always gonna' be looking for them. I feel like I have to. She's Milly's mother, I have to look after her and Milly"

"I understand that, but you have to start looking at the long-term and figuring out other ways to look after her"

He sniffed as it was his turn to nod, "Yeah. I know"

The sound of a door closing caught both of their attention. It was clear that it was the only door that they used to get in and out of the building, so Shane grabbed his rifle again and stood up, holding one hand up to signal for Michonne to wait where she was. He was only a few feet away from the doorway when Rick appeared, holding his Colt in one hand and a garbage bag in the other.

"Your back", Shane breathed, "You get everythan'?"

Michonne slowly rose from her seat when she noticed the look on her husband's face. Shane didn't seem to notice but he should have. Rick looked the other man from head to toe as he sat the bag down, obviously wondering what he had just walked in on. He replied in a short and sharp tone, "Yeah."

"I'll take that", Shane leaned down and took the bag from the floor, "Go on, I'll help the others"

Rick watched the other officer walk around him and down the doorway, then turned back to face his wife. Michonne took careful steps towards him, inspecting him for any indication of injury as she spoke softly, "I thought you'd get back sooner?"

"...We ran into a little trouble. I'll tell you about it later", He explained, his own eyes inspecting her too, "You two were in here waiting for us?"

She stopped in front of him, "I was in here waiting. He just came down."

Rick ran his tongue over his teeth as his cold blue eyes gazed into hers with great intensity, "Yeah?"

She rolled her shoulders back when she noticed his accusing tone, "Yes. Now come on, the ladies cooked dinner, I'll make you a plate"

Michonne was going to reach for his arm but he reached for her wrist first, and lowered his voice when he spoke again, "...Is there somethan' I should know?"

She tried to discreetly inhale, but she was sure he noticed her chest raise, "No."

One of his light brows shot up, "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes. Now, let's go", She allowed him to continue to hold her wrist as she began to step around him, but he stopped her.

"If there is somethan' I should know that you're not telling me, then I want you to know that I learned today that this really is a lawless land now", His southern twang seemed even more pronounced as he spoke, "There aren't any rules on what you have to do to survive, you do whatever it takes to make sure you come out on top"

Michonne couldn't look away from her husband, "And what does that mean?"

"It means just that. My survival is only possible if I have my family by my side. If I have my wife by my side", He looked back over his shoulder and into the dark hallway, "And if anyone were to try and challenge that... they won't come out on top".

...

 **A/N:** Hey you angels! I thought I'd just add that I'm no doctor, this is fiction - please don't take any medical stuff I got in here too seriously because my research on this stuff was lousy lol but hope you enjoyed it!

xoxo


	11. Chapter 11

**AU:** Hey angels, so after the MSF I wasn't sure to post this (and if you read further then you know why) but I really want to get as many updates out as I can so please don't hate me. Hope you enjoy!

-Bae

xoxo

 **Chapter 11:**

 _"...I wanted to bring Michonne and the kids but… I don't think they could handle this. I hated doing this. I hate having to do anythan' these days, it's all taking its toll on me. There's so many of us but-... I feel like I owe to everyone to make sure we're safe. It's my job to. It's my… my responsibility, but I don't think I can do a good job like this. I think I need to forget what I know and do whatever it takes to keep them safe…"_

 _Rick moved from his crouching position and put his knee in the dirt. He lowered his voice when he spoke again._

 _"I hope that you know what I mean by that, and you don't think I'm wrong for it but… I just can't handle the thought of losing anyone else… Daryl, Sasha, Lily… Glenn, Maggie, the girls… Hershel, Beth, Patricia- they're all good people. I consider most of them as my family and I just can't… I can't allow anythan' else to happen to anyone."_

 _He ran his hands over his face when he felt uneasy. He was breathing life into his deepest worries and it only made it seem more real than before._

 _"...I can't stand seeing my mom so scared. She's trying to hold it together but I can just see it… She scared the Jeffrey and Gerald are in trouble, she's worried about the kids- about me… I can't have that anymore. We can't hold up at Dales any longer and the farms probably gone so we need to leave. We have to, and I hate to leave like this… And I'm sorry that I wasn't there to help you, I should have been, but I'd just found out what was going on and… I knew it was too late. If I knew where Sharon was then I'd put her here with you, but I hope this is just as good", Rick looked from the freshly dug grave to the gravestone beside it. His eyes flickered over his mother in law's name, "...I won't ever stop protecting the children, or your daughter. They mean too much to me…"_

 _..._

Rick replayed the conversation in his mind as he stared out the windshield blankly. He didn't know why he did but he couldn't help himself. He had voiced worries that he hadn't even told Michonne. He peaked in her direction, noticing that she was sat forward and staring out the passenger window. He looked in the back seat through the rear-view mirror and saw that Andre was fast asleep on his mother, who looked as if she were also falling asleep, while Carl and Judith gazed out the window with the same blank expression that he wore. The rest of the group had split up into different vehicles behind him, leaving Rick to lead the way. He didn't know where they were going or what it was that he was looking for, he just knew that he had to find something secluded and away from the roads.

More and more cars began to block the highway, and soon enough Rick was unable to maneuver his way around them, so he came to a rolling stop, "We're gonna' have to move them"

He had barely finished his sentence when Judith opened her door in a hurry, "I need the bathroom"

"Me too", Carl opened his door only a second later.

"Wait- wait, hold on, is it safe?", Rick's mother cradled Andre against her chest as she looked from one grandchild to another, "Rick, check first¬"

"We'll be alright here for a while", He reassured his mother as he looked around the highway, "It's bright out, we'll see anythan' coming if someone gets up on the RV"

"I'm using the one in the RV. You're a boy, so go in the bush", Judith instructed firmly as she climbed out the car.

"She's right", Rick agreed with a dry tone, causing Carl to roll his eyes as he muttered something under his breath, " _Both_ of you get right back here when you're done"

"Stay where I can see you, Carl", Michonne called as she unfastened her seatbelt.

"That's not happening, mom", Carl called back before he shut the door.

Michonne groaned as she shifted in her seat to look back at Andre, "Well, at least he's asleep"

"Yeah…", Rick removed his hands from the steering wheel and ran them over his tired face.

"Go on, you two do what you gotta' do.", His mother urged, removing Andre from her chest and laying him down in the seat beside her, "I got him"

Rick nodded as he grabbed hold of the door handle, "Alright."

Everyone else began to exit their vehicles, taking their time to stretch their legs. He didn't see any sign of Maggie but Glenn appeared, still looking as downtrodden as Rick had last seen him. He wanted to talk to his friends properly but every time he had come face to face with either one of them since Ally's death, his mind would draw a blank. Nothing he could say would be good enough.

He looked at the others and saw Daryl making his way towards him, while Sasha armed herself with a handgun. Herschel stood at the RV door talking to Dale while Andrea squeezed her way past the two of them. Shane had come out of his truck and was stood by the opening driver side window, saying something to Lori in the passenger seat. Rick watched the scene closely, purely because he felt like he had to. Lori appeared flustered; her hands waving in different directions as she spoke, leading Shane to bow his head as he marched away. Rick would have turned his attention elsewhere if it hadn't been for the fact that he noticed Shane's gaze land on Michonne. His wife had her back towards him but he knew her body language well; her arms were folded across her chest and her back was straight, letting him know that she was unhappy with something. In a split second Shane had looked away and so had Michonne, but Rick didn't.

"Someone needs to get up on the RV and see how many of these car's we've got to move", Daryl instructed as he joined Rick, but kept his gaze on the vehicles in front of them.

Rick didn't look away from his wife's back as he spoke, "The other lane looks empty. We'll move the ones out the way here so we can drive on that side"

Daryl continued to inspect the roads in front of them, but soon nodded in agreement, "Yeah, alright"

Shane joined the two men just as Daryl started for the first vehicle, leaving him to ask Rick, "What's the plan?"

Ricks eyes slid up to meet Shane's, "Move those cars."

Shane easily accepted the command, "Alright"

"Hold on a second", Rick called a little sternly before he called walk away, "How's Lori doing?"

Shane peered back over his shoulder as he replied, "She's doing just fine. Why you ask?"

"Just thought that I should", Ricks eyes were beginning to sting from his refusal to blink, "Looked like you had a lot on your mind"

It was Shanes turn to slide his gaze up to meet Ricks. He appeared pensive, his dark eyes tracing over Rick's face. A scoff escaped him before he lowered his voice, "Look, I know what Michonne told you but I'm telling you the same thang I told her; I've got this under control"

Rick's earlier suspicions were confirmed, and he did his best to appear to know just what Shane was talking about, so he replied coolly, "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah, man.", Shane insisted firmly as he adjusted his rifle strap on his shoulder, "I'm gonna' handle this."

"And what if you can't?", Rick questioned, trying to get more information from him, "What happens then?"

Shane exhaled through his nose as he averted his gaze, "That's not an option. I've gotta' take care of them"

Rick stared at the side of Shane's face whilst feeling utterly clueless about where their discussion was leading, "...And you think that's the way you've gotta' take care of them?"

Shane's head spun back around to face Rick, his annoyance clear in his expression, "You think you can come up with somethan' better? Huh? You think you can take care of my family better than me?"

Rick raised a hand to stop him, "I didn't say that I can come up with somethan' better, and no, I don't think I can take care of your family better than you can. I asked you if you think that's the way you've gotta' take care of them?"

"Well, what other choice do I have?", Shane stepped closer to him as he lowered his voice, "You think I wanna' go out there looking for those damn pills? You think I like seeing her fall apart all the time? No, Rick. I'm doing it because I need to keep her safe for Milly, I can't have her walking around with her head in the clouds"

Rick was speechless. He peered over Shane's shoulder and towards his vehicle, eye's searching for Lori. It all finally made sense to him, and naturally he was enraged, not only at the fact that Lori was battling some kind of addiction and Shane was enabling her, but because his wife knew about the issue and didn't inform him about it.

Shane rubbed the back of his neck furiously, "Look, she's not a liability. I'm gonna' talk to¬"

"Hey!", Daryl hissed harshly from behind a vehicle, "Let's get moving!"

"You think she's _not_ a liability?", Rick's light brows came down into a stern frown, "Do you understand what you just said?"

Shane shook his head as he looked away from him, "You don't understand, man"

"I don't understand? You think I haven't seen what addiction looks like? You and I have both seen what happens when they don't get what they want and what they're prepared to do for it- Hell, we've locked up enough drug addicts that we know just how _ugly_ it can get¬"

"Hey!", Michonne whispered harshly as she stormed up to them, her eyes darting from one man to the other, "We are sitting ducks right now and Daryl needs help, so why isn't he getting help?"

Shane glanced back over his shoulder at her before he peeled off to help Daryl, while Rick started his wife dead in the eye, "You knew about Lori? And you didn't think to tell me?"

Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly, "I would have told you if he didn't"

"Yeah? When?", He tipped his head to the side as he asked the question, "When she got someone killed while trying to get her next fix? Or when Shane didn't come back from scavaging for pills?"

Michonne inhaled through her nose, "I talked to him and I told him that what he was doing was risky. I let him know that I was not a fan¬"

"We're gonna' let everyone know, and we're gonna' make sure that she's watched at all times", Rick declared toughly as he pulled his pistol free, "I haven't got time to dance around anythan'. She's a problem, a liability, and I won't stand for it"

His wife's already dark eyes seemed to darken even more, "We need to find out about it first, and what happens if she doesn't use them- then we can make a decision"

"Well, I just made the decision. That's it"

"And I say that we find out what we can first, then we make a decision", His wife was almost growling at him, "Until then, nothing happens and we keep this to ourselves"

Rick eyed her fiercely, "Who are you tryna' protect? Shane or everybody else?"

Michonne slowly unfolded her arms as she stepped closer to him, "You are not going to say anything like that to me again, and you are going to give me my space today"

"The hell I will"

"You _will_!", She snapped, then spun around and stalked away from him, leaving Rick to watch her back. He wanted to call her back and speak to her properly but she'd asked for her space and she was getting better at using the Katan, so he was going to respect her wishes. He looked back towards his truck and saw that they had an audience throughout their argument.

His mother shook her head as she stood beside the back door, giving him a disapproving look, "Now I don't know what that was about and quite frankly I don't care, but I will say this; I don't want to witness the two of you talk like that to each other again. It's not necessary"

Rick resisted the urge to make a face at his mother's comment, "You stretching your legs?"

His mother nodded as she looked through the back door window, "I am. He's still fast asleep and I'm watching him. Go on and do what you have to do."

"Alright, we'll be quick."

"Rick", His mother called him a little hurriedly as he began to turn around. He turned back and faced her, noticing how she wore a look of grave concern, "I mean it. You don't have to talk to each other like that so please, just don't. You're on the same side."

Rick softened up, "I know, mom."

She seemed to relax, tucking her arms around her body as she gave him a brief but touching smile, "Alright. Go on."

Rick walked away from his mother feeling a little deflated. He didn't realize how his arguments with his wife could look to someone else. He'd be the first to admit that they weren't always kind to each other when they had a disagreement, and he did wish that the two of them could hold their tempers better but something about the outbreak was making it easier to react in such a way. Before the world started to go to hell things between he and his wife were perfect. They still bickered occasionally but that was a given. He'd give anything to go back to that time, a time where he'd wake up on a Saturday morning with all of his family piled on top of him in bed, but those days seemed like a distant memory.

Glenn helped them move the cars, while one half of the group stood to watch around looking for any threats and the other searched for more supplies. Rick kept his eyes out for potential cars they could take with them since a majority of the group was crammed in Dales RV.

"What do you think about driving one of these cars?", Rick asked his son as he held the steering wheel of an old vehicle and guided it towards the edge of the lane.

"Sure, I'll do it", Carl replied, pushing the back of the car, "I can take Aunt Drea and Grandma? Maybe Carol and Sophia"

"Yeah", The car came to a rolling stop, and Rick backed away from it, "Just don't take any tips from your Aunt about driving"

"Isn't she a good driver?", Carl asked, squinting due to the sun.

Rick scoffed as he walked out into the road, "Depends on who you ask"

"Got it…", Carl smirked as he walked beside his father, "...I spoke to Maggie. Asked her how she was doing."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. She didn't look too bad"

Rick felt ashamed for not paying more attention to Maggie. He had at least been able to talk to Glenn, but Maggie was one of his oldest friends and he owed it to her to offer her a shoulder to cry on. He glanced at his son, "How are you feeling?"

Carl dropped his gaze to the ground as he furrowed his dark brows, "...I don't know… I mean, I think about Grandpa a lot. I haven't stopped thinking about Aly... I just want us to find somewhere safe so we don't lose anyone else"

"We will. I won't rest until we do", Rick assured him firmly, "We need somewhere like the farm… away from town and away from the city"

Carl nodded as he stopped beside a large, canary yellow Hummer, "...Hey, can I take this car?"

Rick eyed the vehicle as he sat his hands at his sides, "You think you can handle that?"

His son shrugged, "It doesn't look that different to your car. And I've drove that plenty of times"

He raised an eyebrow at the teen, "When the hell have you driven my car?"

Carl bit his lip as he looked everywhere else but at his father, "...I mean, not plenty of times… Like twice… and recently, too… not, like, before all of _this_ or anything…"

Rick stared at him with a pair of hard eyes, "And what about your mother's car?"

His son looked genuinely offended at the question, "What? No way- mom would have _freaked_ if I did"

Rick narrowed his eyes at his son, "Did you not realize that I was the one you were meant to be more afraid of? Now I can admit that your mother can be scary- in fact, I've probably seen the scariest sides to her because, for some strange reason, it's easier for her to yell at me than any of you, but I think you and I both know if I'd found out that you were sneaking around in my car back then, I would have made you sleep on the front porch. And not our front porch either"

Carl rolled his eyes at the threat as the corner of his lips curled up to reveal a crooked smile, "Yeah I know, but mom cries. And thanks to _you_ none of us can stand to see her cry. Even Andre."

That wasn't something that Rick could argue with. He was about to agree when he noticed strange movement over his son's shoulder; it was Shane, running alongside a vehicle in a low position as he hissed, "There's a herd of 'em coming! Get down!"

Rick looked further back down the lane, and at first he couldn't see anything out the usual, but then a few walking corpses stumbled into view. He noticed Andrea fall to her front on the RV, her hands signalling for everyone to do the same. Rick breathed, "Shit!"

"What do we do?", Carl asked in a slightly panicked voice, "Everyone's down there¬"

"Get down, you take that side, tell everyone to get under the cars and you do the same. Now, go!", Rick instructed, giving his son a gentle push in one direction while he took off in the other.

Rick sprinted in between cars, keeping his head low as he looked out for members of his group. It seemed that Shane had already instructed most of them to get down as he saw Carol, Sophia and Patricia crouched beside a truck, so whispered to them, "Get underneath it!"

Herschel was doing the same with Beth, allowing his daughter to roll under a car first before he joined her, while Sasha waited for Lilly to do the same. He saw Dale pull his mother under the RV, and before Rick could panic, he saw Michonne shuffle under a nearby truck with Carl. Rick finally got a chance to do the same, just when he heard the murmurs getting closer.

He found Glenn already hiding under the same car, and the younger man looked frantic, "Maggie's alone with the girls in there!"

Rick tried to see if he could see the Rhee's vehicle from where they were but to no luck, and feet were already approaching nearby, "She'll know what to do, Maggie's smart. She'll get down- I know she will."

The stench that illuminated from the dead was enough to make anyone gag. They dragged their feet along, some sporting broken ankles and some missing shoes. Rick hated how he was used to the sounds they made. He knew a low hum meant that they were just mulling along without any interest in their surroundings, and a growl meant that they'd seen something that caught their attention. He had no choice but to listen and watch, hoping that they wouldn't be stuck within their reach for long.

He looked at everybody else under the cars and saw fear etched on their face. Carol looked as if she were about to implode from fright. It dawned on him that he hadn't seen Judith, and hoped that she was either still in the RV or with her mother and brother. He knew that if she were in the RV and saw the dead sailing by the window then she would hide without a doubt. He kept telling himself that she would, but then his mind flickered to his youngest son and his chest caved with dread when he realized his son was still in his truck, which was parked in the center of the stream of the dead. His mind began to spin as he tried to figure out if he could possibly get to him, but the heard was growing thicker and more feet began to trudge along the lane. His eyes didn't leave his vehicle, and he prayed that his son would remain fast asleep until the dead passed on.

"Look", Glenn tilted his head straight ahead as spoke in muted tones, "It's thinning out"

Glenn was right. It seemed the worst of the herd had passed, and nothing had distracted them from their journey. His group were almost out of the woods. Rick continued to wait at Glenn's side when they both noticed a small pair of feet in white and pink rabbit shoes, shuffling behind in the dredges of the heard. Rick's eye's rolled shut. He knew it was a little girl and he was glad that he couldn't see her face. Her ankles were thin and bruised, with a chunk of flesh missing from the back of her calf. Rick turned his head to look at Glenn and saw that his friend was covering his mouth as he silently wept, his eyes following the girl until she was no longer in view. Rick grabbed hold of his arm and squeezed it tight as a poor attempt for a hug.

The road was silent again. Rick shifted his position beneath the vehicle and looked toward the direction of the heard. He couldn't see anything, so began to stick his head out from under the vehicle when he heard the faint calls, "Mommy? Mommy?! Mommy!"

What followed next was Rick's idea of a nightmare. He heard his son cry; a cry he'd only ever heard when he was truly frightened. He could see his son's face in his mind and It made his blood run cold. Every nerve in his body stood to attention. Then he heard his mother protest, "No! Get away from him! No!"

He rolled out from underneath the car as quickly as he could and began to run frantically to his truck. He could still hear his son's cries, followed by his mothers, and it made his heart beat at thrice the normal rate.

He caught the beginning of the dead man's attack. He didn't see his teeth sink into his mother's throat but he saw the blood pour from his mouth as he pulled away. His mother was stiff as a board, her eyes unable to get any wider if she tried. Rick felt the ground shake beneath his feet. He lifted his pistol to empty as many bullets as he could into the dead man's skull but something impaled it before he could. Brain matter shot out onto the window and just like that the man released his mother's biceps from his grip and fell to the floor like a sack of bricks. Michonne pulled the katana away and dropped it to the floor, hurrying to catch his mother before she collapsed.

Rick fell to his knees when he was close enough, his vision blurred from tears. Blood spilled over Michonne's trembling hands as she tried to cover the wound, whispering over and over, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."

He reached for his mother, trying to stop the bleeding with his hand on top of Michonnes. He could see it on her face that it was pointless; her skin was so pale that she looked as if she were glowing. Her pupils were little dots in a sea of brown eyes. She held onto his wife's forearm as she looked up at her, repeating "It's...okay... I-It's alright"

"She ran to him…", Dale tried to explain nearby, crushing his hat in his hands as he wore a pained expression, "I tried to hold her… I said he's safe in there- the car's locked… I'm so sorry…"

Rick looked around, ignoring Dale and the other faces that stood by, in search of one man in particular, "Hershel!"

The grey-haired man was stepping forward. He apologetically down at Rick, his hands raised weakly, "Rick, we can't do what you think we can here¬"

"Hurry!", Rick barked from gritted teeth, " _Now_!"

"R-rick!", His mother spat, choking on the blood began to fill her mouth, "N-n-no!"

He looked back down at her, completely astonished. His bright blue eyes darted all over her face, searching for answers but all he could see was her life slipping away. He took her hand in his and he stressed, "Please… I can't lose you, too"

The corners of her bloodstained mouth turned downward, and her eyes clamped shut as she tried to shake her head, "N-n-no…"

Rick held onto her, his voice cracking with every word as he spoke in vain, "I was trying to get you somewhere- I wanted to get you somewhere safe... Please, just let me get you there… I can't have this… I can't lose you- I _need_ you"

He saw his mother struggle to take her last breath. She inhaled as much as she could but there was no use. Her hand rested limply on Michonne's shaking arm and her lifeless eyes stared through him. Rick stared back at her, his mind struggling to accept the sight in front of him. Michonne moved her hand from the horrible wound and blood continued to stream onto the asphalt, but Rick couldn't bring himself to move his hand yet. He didn't want to see her loose any more blood; he was already kneeling into much.

A blade appeared at the corner of his eye, followed by a rough instruction, "...You have to. Before she comes back…"

Rick didn't look at it, but Michonne reached over him and took the knife from Daryl, but Rick growled, "Not. Yet."

There wasn't anymore movement around him and he was grateful for that. He wasn't ready to see any more of his mother's blood spilled. He held her hand in his and continued to peer down at her with a broken, disheveled look. He now knew what it meant to be surrounded by many people but feel so alone. It was still early in the afternoon and the sun was high in the sky with rays beaming in every direction and they lit up as far as the eye could see, but he felt as if he had just been propelled into darkness. The sun might as well have blown up.

When he finally raised his head, he saw that members of the group were stood around witnessing his decent, their own turmoil written on their faces. Carl was the closest to them, cradling Andre against his chest as he looked down at his grandmother with reddened eyes and tear streaked cheeks. Rick blinked away from him, trying to fix his blurred vision when he saw Judith stepping out of the RV, helped by a wide-eyed Andrea.

His daughter was covered in dark blood. Old blood. From the rim of her t-shirt all the way down to her sneakers. She wore a grave expression with emotionless eyes and slightly parted lips, blood freckled on her face. She looked haunted. She held a screwdriver in her hand that appeared to have bits of flesh on the head. Her hand sprang open and the tool dropped to the ground with a clank!. She exhaled softly, "...It feels real now".


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

"We clear out the front and patch that gate up then we got somethan' for the night. Tomorrow we can get inside there… see what's going on. Might be able to clear it out, too"

Michonne surveyed the building in front of her, trying to see if Daryl's plan was something they could actually work with. There were a few dead men in grey jumpsuits roaming the in the front, and possibly even more inside. She couldn't see the prisons potential in the moment but it was truly in the middle of nowhere and it had walls, so she knew it was their best and only option. She exhaled tiredly as she looked up at the bruised sky, "We'll do it. It's going to get dark soon."

Daryl peeked at her from beneath his bangs, "...Shouldn't we get the others?"

She shook her head, "There's a dozen of them in there. If we get them up against the fence then we can take them out one by one. No guns"

Daryl looked back at the fence, then nodded, "Alright. Let's do it"

Michonne knew that by 'others', he was really referring to her husband. She didn't want that. Daryl was more than capable of taking out the dead and she wanted to be able to do the same. They stomped their way through the overgrown grass and across a small moat, gaining the deads attention as they approached the fence. Michonne moved away from Daryl so that all of the men mulling around inside could see them, and the growls soon followed.

Killing with the Katana was getting a little easier. She was finding new ways to use it and growing confident swinging the blade. She wanted to be quicker with it, to be able to take out her target effortlessly, but having her mother in law die in her arms less a few hours beforehand had hindered her performance. Susan's face was still fresh in her mind, and it was because of the older woman's death that she didn't want Rick to join them. He needed to grieve, and she was going to make sure that happened.

Their killing attracted attention from a few roamers on the other side of the prison fence, so she backed up to tackle them. The first was a man dressed in uniform, missing part of his arm. She swung her blade upward, slicing him through the torso so he fell apart in two large chunks. The second was dressed similarly, and she figured that they were guards. She depicted him. The third was an older, dark-skinned man, who was portly and wearing a Hawaiian shirt. She froze in shock; surprised how much he looked like her father.

"...Hey?! You got him?!", Daryl called, pulling his knife free from a skull by the fence.

Michonne snapped out of it and swung the blade at the last minute, taking off the top of the man's head. He fell forward and she stumbled back, staring at the dead body on the floor. She threw down her katana and rubbed her hands over her face, feeling so overwhelmed that she burst into tears. Everything that was happening around her was beginning to tear at her, ripping her spirit to pieces. She looked up to the sky as if the answers were up there, wishing she didn't feel as though she were drowning in despair.

"...Come on 'Chonne", Daryl rasped awkwardly as he walked over to her, "You're meant to be one of the toughest ones here…"

She shook her head as she looked at him, "I'm not. I wish that I was but… Far from it"

Daryl stopped close by, peering at her through his trademark squint.

"...I know why she did it...", Michonne sniffed as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "...I get why she did it. She was sick and she was ready to go… What better way to do it than trying to save one of us?…"

Daryl dropped his gaze to her boots as he slowly nodded, signaling that he understood too.

"I mean, she would have done that even if she wasn't sick", She reasoned, " _Of course_ she would have… I guess I'm just mad that that's what happened… She didn't even get her chance to tell Rick what was going on with her... But that's how her life ended. How my dad's life ended- just… all of them…"

Daryl shifted uneasily, "...You said so yourself… She wouldn't want to go any other way…"

"No. She wouldn't.", Michonne blew out an uneven breath as she wiped her eyes again, "I'm just scared that this is going to be it. This is going to be the thing that breaks him"

Daryl looked down as he shook his head, "...I don't think you'll let that happen…"

She inhaled through her nose as she thought about his reply. If she could keep her husband from falling apart then she would, but knowing what she did about Rick's relationship with his mother, the idea of trying to prevent him from completely crumbling under the pressure of the new world just seemed impossible. One of the very few, most prominent anchors in his life was gone and it made Michonne sick with worry that he'd sail away from her.

With their task done, the duo returned to the main road where the group was settled and the somber mood was still thick in the air. The Rhee's were sat in their car, joined by Beth who sat with her sister. Hershel, Dale, and Patricia were stood by the RV while Glenn looked at the vehicle's engine. Shane played patrol, strolling back and forth up the street while Lori and Milly sat on a barrier nearby. Sasha was by Rick's truck, stood by the window talking to Andrea, who was sat inside with Judith and Andre. Michonne narrowed her eyes as she looked for Carl and Rick, picking up a little speed in her walk until she that they were further up the street. Carl was leaning against an abandoned car while his father stood a few feet away, hands at his sides as he looked off into the distance.

"Go on, I'll let everybody know", Daryl instructed, already making his way towards the group.

There was a delay in Michonne's reaction but she eventually forced herself to put one foot in front of the other to cross the grass. Carl noticed her first, and when he did he stood up straight; looking at her with concern. She placed her hand on his bicep as she spoke quietly, "We found somewhere. A prison… We can stay there for the night and see if it will work"

Her son appeared skeptical, "...A prison?"

"Yeah.", She gave his arm a little squeeze, "I know what your thinking but it has a fence, we can camp out front tonight"

Carl let his gaze fall to the ground as he nodded, "...Yeah. Alright."

Michonne glanced in her husband's direction, "Go on. I'll get him."

Carl hesitated like she had done moments before, but he decided to move quicker than she had. She watched him walk away before turning back to face Rick. He was facing away from everyone and hadn't even attempted to look back. She felt so much dread approaching him that she almost felt sick; their conversation could either go one of two ways, and neither of those ways looked good to Michonne.

She was going to stop beside him but decided to stand directly in front of him, and the sheer sight of him was enough to make her retreat. She could tell by the way his withdrawn gaze took a moment to find her that he was lost in his thoughts, and even when he did look at her it was as if he were looking at the world's most uninteresting object. She chose to break the information up into small chunks so she could feed him piece by piece: that way she could give him time to react. If he reacted at all. She spoke carefully, "Daryl found somewhere."

He stared at her with his lips sealed shut.

"It's a prison."

He blinked at the speed of which moss grows.

"We cleared the front. We can camp there for the night…"

Nothing.

She inhaled through her nose as she lowered her gaze, "It's secluded, and it has a wall."

"...Where is it?"

Her gaze jumped back up to his face, "...A little over a mile from here. We walked straight there through those bushes so we need to find a road¬"

"Go on. I'll catch up.", He averted his gaze back to over her head.

Michonne's mouth fell agape. She had to repeat his reply back to him, "You'll catch up?"

He didn't respond.

Her eyes scoured his face for sense, "...We are not leaving without you¬"

"You won't have any choice", He snapped coldly as he peered back down at her, "It's gonna' get dark soon and the kids need to be somewhere safe. You take them there."

"I am not going anywhere without you", She tried to remain calm but failed, "If you want some space then you can get it in there and I will make sure that no one bothers you but as for leaving you here? That's not an option, Rick¬"

"When are you gonna' start listening to me?", He spoke brusquely. His tone at its' deepest.

"When you start listening to me", She replied back angrily, "Do you even believe for just one second, that if I were the one stood here telling you to leave without me, you would do it? You would agree and let me make my own way when I was ready?"

His face grew tight as he clenched his jaw.

" _Exactly_ , Rick", She balled her fists at her side when she felt as if she were going to cry. She refused to, "If you want to stay that badly then fine, I'll ask them to leave a car behind and we can both stand out here until you're ready to leave"

Rick turned his head away from her but Michonne caught a glimpse of the annoyed expression that flashed across his face, "I need a minute, Michonne. I'm asking you to just give me that. Maybe you're right about if thangs were different, but they're not. So can you please just give me a Goddamn moment, because that's all I'm asking for. I'm not asking you to understand it and I'm not asking you to like it, just¬ ...Please, just give me that."

Michonne was stung by a pain that she hadn't felt in a long time. A pain that she didn't think she'd have to worry about ever feeling again. She pressed her lips together when she felt them about to quiver. She wanted to protest and she wanted to drag him kicking and screaming to his truck like he would do with her but she had to suppress the need to fight with him. He was hurting and there was nothing she could do about it.

"...It's getting dark¬", She stopped herself when she felt a lump in her throat. She waited until it passed, "It's getting dark, so please¬"

"Go on", He urged, stepping aside so she could pass him and go back to the group.

Against all her natural instincts, she walked in the other direction. Daryl was waiting by the head of the line up of vehicles when she returned, stood near his wife. Michonne discreetly took a deep breath before she spoke, "...We need to leave one of the trucks here. For Rick."

Sasha immediately frowned, "For Rick? Why?"

"...He'll catch up".

Sasha's heard drew back in surprise. Her behavior made it seem as if she were preparing to present the same argument that Michonne had, but instead, she looked at her own husband and simply said, "Stay with him. Lily and I are getting in the RV"

Daryl looked at his wife, then Michonne, then towards Rick as he muttered, "Alright. You remember the way?"

"Yeah", Michonne nodded, "We'll get a fire going or something so you can see where we're at."

"Thanks."

Explaining to her children that their father would be joining them later was simple enough. Carl seemed to understand, while Judith was still in a daze from earlier events so barely responded. Michonne planned to talk to her because she could see that she was possibly traumatized by the attack in the RV. She naively believed that her daughter had returned to the car with her grandmother and young brother, so she was horrified to learn that that wasn't the case. Judith was still so young, even though she liked to think otherwise, and having to kill someone was not an easy task, so Michonne was unbelievably relieved to see that her daughter had come out alive but it reiterated the fact that they needed to get behind walls.

When they returned to the Prison, the group immediately set about making the fenced-in grass area safe. Removed the bodies and parked the vehicles in the center of the pen, making sure they could leave in a hurry if they had to. Glenn helped Daryl check the fence while others began setting up their temporary beds and resting areas. Michonne busied herself looking for clothing for Judith so she could remove the bloody ones she wore, and it during her search that she was approached by Shane, "...Hey, uh… What's going on here?"

She looked back over her shoulder at him in confusion, but when she realized what he meant she turned back to the trunk of her car, "They're coming"

Shane shifted from foot to foot, holding his rifle strap over his shoulder, "Yeah. Alright…"

Michonne expected him to disappear, but he still hung around so she glanced back at him, "Problem?"

"...I was gonna' ask you that", He tipped his head to one side as he looked at her, "You alright?"

She scoffed as she held up a clean sweatshirt, "Are _any_ of us?"

"No. But I'm asking about you."

She put the sweatshirt to one side and began looking for the pants that went with it, "I'll live."

Shane appeared to mull over her response as he didn't reply immediately, "...You know, in spite of everythan' that's gone on between our families, I've always respected your take on thangs. You've always put the kids first… and you've taken away a lot of awkward situations that should be there between us all and I've never thanked you for that. I've never returned the favor"

Michonne looked at him from the corners of her eyes, "There's no need for that"

"Nah, there is", He insisted with a little frown that conveyed how serious he was, "There is because even with all this mess going on you're still finding time to help me and mine. Even if it's only for the greater good of the group, they way you've been goin' about it was respectful and I… What I'm saying is thank you, and I'd like to return the favor if you let me. I would like to help you how you're trying to help me."

Michonne slowly turned around to face him, sensing that he was being genuine in his request, "I appreciate that. And the best way that you could really help me right now is by continuing to help keep everyone safe."

Shane appeared to accept that, "I won't ever stop doing that"

"Then you will always be returning the favour.", She put a little finality in her tone, hoping to put an end to their conversation. She did appreciate his offer but she wasn't in the mood to talk anymore.

"Alright."

Michonne waited until he walked away to look in his direction. She didn't intend to be rude or dismissive, especially when he was trying to help, but she could sense something behind his words that made her a little weary of his intentions. She turned away when she saw him begin to look back at her. Her suspicions were confirmed.

"Andre won't let me put him down", Carl's voice gave her a fright. He approached her from behind, holding his little brother to his chest, "He's still shaking, mom"

Michonne eyed her toddlers back and could see that Carl was right. She took Andre from his arms with urgency and held him tight. He buried his face in her neck so she couldn't get a good look at him, but still spoke soothingly in his ear, "It's okay, honey"

Carl looked in the trunk and asked, "...What are you doing?"

"...Looking for something for Judith"

Carl took over, "I'll do it."

"You don't have to, I've got it", Michonne insisted as she stood beside him, "Go on¬"

"I need to do something, mom", Carl stressed as he began looking around in the bags, "I have to."

Michonne understood him. She was guilty of busying herself as a distraction so she let him take on the task, but took hold of his hand when she declared, "You're allowed to be upset, Carl"

He peered down at her hand, "So are you."

She gave him a little squeeze before she let him continue their search. The night was fast approaching so she stayed facing the fence, waiting eagerly for Daryl to return with Rick. She only moved to put Andre in the car when he fell asleep but quickly went back to her post. She was beginning to think that she should have protested for him to come along, even if he spent most of the night away from everyone else.

"Anything?", Andrea drug her feet through the grass as she joined her.

"No.", Michonne replied, staring early through the trees. It was so dark that she could barely see anything at all.

Andrea sighed as she took her gaze from the fence and put it on Michonne, "...Let me look out for them, you can go get something to eat. Patricia's warming up some beans and stuff"

"No.", She huffed tiredly, "I'd rather do it"

Andrea swung her head around to look back at the fence and her blonde ponytail followed her, "Alright. Guess we're both doing it then"

Michonne crossed her arms over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at the darkness, "...How are you holding up?"

Andrea snorted at her, "I'm not, but who is?"

Michonne would have nodded in agreement, "That's true."

"...I don't think any of us will ever be okay, but we'll make it. We have to."

"We do", Michonne exhaled through her nose, "...You think I should have stayed with him?"

Andrea glanced at her, then tipped her head from one side to the other as she came up with a reply, "...That's a tough question... Yes and no."

Michonne waited for her explanation.

"Yes, for obvious reasons, and no because…I think there's some things that we need to be able to process on our own. This is one of those things."

"I wouldn't have stopped him from doing that. I just would have waited for him.", She insisted softly, feeling to need stress that point.

"I know you wouldn't, but I think you still would have been a distraction for him. He can't ignore you."

Michonne let her gaze fall for a few seconds, "...He wouldn't have left me there."

"No. He wouldn't.", Andrea inhaled deeply as she peered behind them, "This place might work, though. It's big enough for him to roam around on his own if he wants."

"I told him that", Michonne used one of her hands to massage the back of her neck, "We're going to check it out in the morning."

Andrea turned back to her with an apprehensive frown, "...What if there are still people in there?"

Michonne stilled as she thought about the possibility, "You think that they just left inmates in there?"

"Without a doubt. You saw how things were when this first started- It was every man for himself", Andrea responded coldly, "Especially in a place like this- they probably left them in the cells or something¬"

The sound of metal slamming together forced silence to fall over the group. Michonne and Andrea spun around and looked back towards the building in shock. Shane surgered forward with a gun in one hand while he used the other to signal for everyone to wait were they were. Michonne would have listened but she saw Carl following him along with Glenn and realised there was enough of them to defend the group, so she went along and Andrea followed her.

"I've got this", Andrea whispered as she pulled a small handgun from her waistline, "Dale gave it to me"

"Good", Michonne hissed back, already holding her katana in her hands as she crept up behind the men. She wanted to be near Carl because she didn't want him in harm's way but she had to remember that her son was better prepared than she gave him credit for.

The dead from inside the prison had moved away from the fence and went in search of the noise so they were able to get up close to see what was going on in the yard, and just when it seemed as though there were only corpses mulling around, they caught a glimpse of a dark figure darting from one building to another.

"You see that?", Carl whispered to Shane as he raised his gun to eye level.

"Saw it", Shane whispered back, alright holding his rifle up, "He's trapped in there"

The figure ran into view again, ducking and diving out of the way of the dead as he made his way towards them. It was a man in a jumpsuit, running for his life and looking around frantically. When he finally made it to the fence, the group were able to get a good look at him; Michonne and Andrea let out little shocked gasps.

"Please! Help me! They're coming for me!", Terry pleaded as he frantically tried to climb to safety, "Shoot them! They wanna' eat me!"

Carl and Glenn looked to Shane, who appeared to hesitate before backing away from the fence, "Get your shoes and socks off, then climb"

"What?!", Terry looked behind him in a blind panic.

"Get your Goddamn shoes and socks off¬ Then you can climb the fence", Shane instructed firmly as he aimed his rifle at Terry, "We ain't shooting them 'cause then we'll wake up every damn thang in these woods, so hurry up and climb. We'll keep 'em off you"

Terry moved so fast that he was a blur; kicking off his old boots and ripping off his socks from his feet before he began to scale the fence, using his toes to grip the wire. The dead finally made their way back just as he reached the top, and instead of climbing back down, he leapt from the top and landed with a thud on the grass.

"Come on, get up", Shane ordered, his rifle following every move Terry made, "You come out of there?"

"Argh…", Terry groaned as he rolled on to his front and sat up, clutching his shoulder in pain, "What does it look like?"

"It looks like I'm the one holding a gun and you're not", Shane shot back, "So answer the question"

"Yeah, I came out of there", Terry closed his eyes as he winced in pain.

"Yeah? Anybody else in there?"

"Argh...There was a group of us… now there's just six"

"Us? You with them?", Shane tilted his head at the kneeling man, "Why'd you come out here on your own then?"

"Because those assholes threw me out", Terry spat, finally looking Shane in the eye, "We were all losing our minds in there¬"

"Whatchu' you in there for in the first place?", Shane quizzed.

Terry's gaze sailed away from him and began acknowledging all the other faces that looked down at him until he saw Michonne and froze. He frowned at her, "Michonne?"

"Hey! Answer me!", Shane demanded.

"Look, I'm not like them; I haven't killed anyone or… or anything violent like that- I made a mistake a few years ago and-and- I was on my way out when all this happened¬", Terry spluttered as he tried to explain himself, "Michonne, look, please- I never got a chance to apologise face to face but I wrote to you- and I tried to get you to see me so I could¬"

"What's going on?", Hershel asked as he climbed up the bank to join them with Sasha at his side.

"Stay back", Shane still pointed his gun at Terry, "We're just trying to get some answers here"

"I'm sorry", Terry breathed as he leered at Michonne with pleading eyes, sweat dripping from his forehead, "I never got to say it before but I'm saying it now¬ I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you or anyone else- I was just stupid and I realised that as soon as I got in here. I'm not trying to hurt anyone, I just wanna' get out of here¬"

"And go where?", Shane probed, "You got somewhere to go?"

Terry spun his head around to look back at Shane, "Home. I just want to go home and find out what's happening¬"

"Those thangs in there are everywhere", Shane ejected dryly, "You haven't realised that theres a group of people camping out front of a prison? Why'd you think that is?"

Terry's head jerked back as he began to look around him properly, "What?"

"Whatever you've seen in there is worse out here. It's happening everywhere", Shane lowered his gun, "But you're free to leave. We won't stop you. Go on."

"What?", Terry repeated, "But… but wait, what about the police¬"

"You're looking at the police. There ain't nothing we can do about it, it's a bigger problem than us and the military- If there's military left at this point"

Terry appeared to slip into a daze as he absorbed the news, "...So… that's… w-what? W-what do we do¬"

"We survive. That's it.", Shane began to back up, "So come on, you can go about your way now¬"

"Wait- what? I don't- I don't want to go out there", Terry struggled to his feet, "I can't- I don't have any weapons or anything¬"

"We can give you a gun", Shane replied easily, "Always aim for the head"

"Shane", Hershel called with a hand raised to stop him, "Just hold on a second. We can't send him out there like this"

Shane's chest grew as he inhaled.

"He doesn't know just how bad it is out there", Hershal reasoned, "We send him out there to fend off those things in the dark with no shoes on his feet and a couple of bullets then we're basically sending him out there to die"

Shane rubbed the back of his neck as he looked to the ground, "Look, we haven't talked about taking people in before"

"No, we haven't, and we should. I don't know what this man has done to find himself in there¬"

"He's a creep who went around giving out gifts with little hidden cameras in them so he can spy on women", Andrea blurted out in a monotone, "That's what he did"

"I did it once!", Terry stressed, "And I'm sorry¬I said that I'm sorry!"

Carl whipped his head around to look at his mother, and Michonne gave him a look that confirmed it was true. Her son then looked back at Terry with angry eyes, "What?"

"...Well he's been in there for what he's done…", Hershal continued, "And sending him out there would be like giving him another punishment. He didn't even know what's going on - I don't think that's fair"

"What you think about this?", Shane looked Michonne dead in the eye from where he stood, causing everyone to turn their attentions to her.

Michonne hated having all eyes on her while she tried to come to a decision. She wanted to continue to hear everyone else's opinions first but since it was revealed that she was the 'almost'- victim of his crime, she had no choice but to voice her thoughts, "At the first sign of light he can find his way home then. There are still plenty of working cars on the highway and he can take one"

Hershal gave her a disappointed look, as if he were hoping for a different response.

"That's fair, Hershal", She insisted, " _None_ of us knew what was out there when it first happened and we had to find out on our own¬"

"We weren't on our own though, we had each other. Who does he have?"

She quickly produced another point for her argument, "He's got a better chance making it out there in the day than he would now, and he's got a better chance surviving out there on his own than in this group"

"Michonne", Terry began to plead again, "I said that I am¬"

"I _heard_ you!", She snapped, growing more and more irritated with the man's voice, "But would you like to take a wild guess on who definitely won't care about your apology?"

Terry began to furrow his brows until his memory struck him.

"Exactly", Michonne looked back to Shane and Hershal, "He can stay up here for now."

Shane slowly nodded his head in agreement, "I think that is fair. Anyone disagree?"

Andrea smirked as she spun around and began walking away from the group, "Nope."

Glenn gave his father-in-law an apologetic look, "...I'm sorry Hershal, but I don't either. I think that is fair."

Carl made his point by standing beside his mother, while Sasha simply shook her head. Hershal eventually sighed, "I think we should all sleep on this before we make any rash decisions"

Shane eyed Terry, then the ground around them, "We can spare you a sleeping bag. You can set yourself up right over there¬"

"I can't believe this", Terry breathed, "Please, you can't¬"

Michonne saw the light from the approaching vehicle and turned around in a haste. The truck was waiting by the gate while Beth and Andrea raced over to let Rick and Daryl in. She was overcome with relief as she began to descend the bank but stopped dead in her tracks when she realized what Rick would see when he rejoined them.

They parked up beside the other cars, and she was expecting to see only the two front doors open but a back door opened too, and a tall, husky man stepped out. It took her a few moments to really see who it was that she was staring at, and when she heard Sasha gasp it quickly became clear.

"Oh my God! Tyrese!", Sasha stormed her way down the bank and across the long grass to her embrace her brother. He dropped a duffle bag at his side and scooped her up in her arms.

"...Look, can you guys please just hear me out?", Michonne heard Terry plead for a countless time, "I get it, I see you guys have your group but I'm not- I'm really not any trouble and I won't be¬"

"Let just sleep on it", Hershal insisted tiredly, "Everyone's had a long day so it's best you just wait this one out. We'll reconvene and talk about it in the morning"

Michonne watched her husband stalk towards them with a wide and powerful gait. He slowed down once he reached her but his eyes were on the man behind her. He looked both crazed and astonished as he asked, "What the hell's going on?"

"...He was in there with others but they kicked him out", She explained quietly as she looked him over, "He wants to stay but we said we'd send him on his way in the morning…"

Rick raised one of his light brows as he looked down at her, then back up at the others.

"We agreed that he can stay up here. We can keep an eye on him, then tomorrow we can¬the"

Michonne thought she was getting used to the sound of gunshots, but when she heard the loud pop nearby she still jumped, both out of fear and shock. She didn't even see her husband pull his pistol free but she did see him lower it after shooting Terry between the eyes. The man fell back against the fence then fell to the ground in a heap, leading the dead to follow his fresh corpse eagerly as they tried to reach him through the wires.

Everyone wore the same horrified expression that she did. Eyes were wide and mouths hung open, while Rick calmly turned to his wife and asked, "Where's Judith and Andre?"

It took several seconds for Michonne to look away from Terry and focus on Rick, "...Wh-what¬"

" _Where_ …", He repeated himself slowly, "Is Judith and Andre?"

Her eyes darted back and forth between his. His bright blue eyes that usually radiated some kind of warmth towards her were now cold and virtually unrecognizable. She stuttered out of bewilderment, "...In-in the truck"

"Alright", He looked over to his eldest, "Carl, get away from there"

Carl only leered at his father. If he was intending to move then it didn't appear like he'd do it anytime soon. Michonne stared at her husband as if she was checking that it really was him and there was no mistaking that it was Rick. _Her_ Rick. The one and only Rick that she knew and cherished more than anything had just killed a man in front of everyone. His gaze grazed her as he turned back around, "Let's go"

And just like that, he stomped back down the bank, leaving everyone to accept what he had just done.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** I'm warning you angels, that this chapter might be a little hard to swallow (What better way to end a weird year?). And before anyone thinks that I'm crazy, please remember that Richonne will always be my number one so don't think that I hate them when I write certain situations, I just love angst and drama. Hope you enjoy! And please don't snatch my edges if you don't because I am not trying to walk into 2018 bald. Hope you guys have an amazing New Year and I can't wait to share even more trashy fic's with you guys! Love You All!

-Bae

 **Chapter 13:**

Rick twirled his finger around in circles, swirling his wife's dreadlock around his digit. He had been staring up at the roof of his truck for almost an hour, but couldn't bring himself to start his day yet. He could hear Judith and Andre gently snoring in the back seat and the birds tweeting away in the trees. Carl had opted to sleep in the Hummer he found with Andrea, but Rick only had to look out of his window to see his son.

Michonne lay on his chest, on top of him in the reclined passenger seat. She was awake but hadn't moved. Rick knew that she was awake because her breathing changed but she didn't open her eyes. She didn't want to sleep with him that night, and he knew it. He saw the way she looked at him after he'd shot Terry. She was shocked because of what he'd done. Rick didn't like that, which was why he told her to lay with him. He held her tense body until they both fell asleep.

He looked down his nose at her when he noticed she'd opened her eyes. He followed her line of sight to the pistol in his other hand, so asked her in a whisper, "You alright?"

She lifted her gaze, "No. I'm not."

Rick exhaled as he looked up to the windshield, "Don't worry. We'll check inside today."

She lifted her head to see him, "You know that's not what I'm talking about, Rick."

He gave her his full attention; his eyes examined her face, "You wanna' tell me?"

He could see that she was frustrated when she slowly inhaled and looked away from him, so combed through her locks with his fingers to soothe her.

"You're worrying about thangs that aren't important", He insisted softly, "The kids are safe, and you've found a place for us to hold up… We're doing all the right thangs"

Michonne let her gaze fall to his chest, "...He said that there are people inside there. Five more."

Rick continued to comb his fingers through her locks but at a much slower speed, "Yeah?"

She nodded her head gently, "...We have to come up with a plan on how to deal with them as a group."

Rick felt his upper lip beginning to curl at the idea.

"...I don't want another repeat of last night, Rick"

"Neither do I". He insisted while a frown formed on his face, "Which is why we don't have time to discuss anythan'. We don't have the time to plan how we 'deal' with anyone outside of our own. They get three questions; How many people they've killed, how many of the dead they've killed and why. We get an answer that we don't like and they're out"

Michonne stared at him, "...We throw them out?"

He shook his head at her as he moved her dreads from off her shoulder, "We let them go then they might come back for some kind of revenge… So we need to take that option away from them"

She looked him up and down incredulously, "You're talking about killing people, Rick"

"I'm talking about protecting my family", He corrected, "I've told you before that we've gotta' do what we gotta' do to come out on top"

Michonne turned her head away from him but Rick swiftly cupped her face and guided her back to him.

"I mean it", He brushed his thumb along her bottom lip as he admired her face, "I'd do anythan' for you and the kids. Anythan' at all"

She seemed to weaken from his words, "And we'd do anything for you, but not¬"

"Then stay out of my way.", His tone dropped an octave or two as he made his warning, "And let me do what I need to"

Michonne slowly sat up straight as her big brown eyes lost their warmth. She was giving him the same look she'd given him before; like she was trying to figure out if she knew him or not. She exhaled through her nose as she spoke in a whisper, "...You've already pushed me out the way."

She just opened the car door and climbed off of him. Rick sat up to see where she was going but heard a gentle wail from behind him.

Andre rubbed his eyes with his little fist and looked down at his still sleeping sister. He waited a moment, then began tapping on her head, "Up, Ju-dee, up"

Rick began to smile as he held out his hands, "Why don't you come over here instead?"

Andre climbed over his sister roughly and made her groan, but he made it to his father and snuggled up in his arms. It seemed like his toddler son was the only person who greeted him with a smile in recent days.

Members of their group were already milling around in the yard. He could see Patricia speaking with Hershel by their truck. Beth joined them with Demi in her arms. He heard a door close nearby and saw Andrea leaving the hummer, possibly in search of Michonne. Sasha was stood further away from the group with her brother; looking up towards the building. Rick saw why; Daryl was up by the fence, pulling his hunting knife free from a skull. Glenn was not far away from him, doing the same thing with his own knife.

Rick looked for Lori next, and he saw her at Shane's truck with Carol and Sophia. She was watching the men kill with a vacant stare. Carol walked away with her daughter while Lori stayed rooted in place, making no attempt to look anywhere else. Her arms were wrapped around her noticeably thin body. Milly walked up behind her and Lori quickly wrapped her arms around her daughter's shoulders, as if she were shielding her from what was going on. Rick squinted at her.

"We're gonna' get in there soon…", Shane's voice was groggy. He appeared at the open door, peering down at Rick carefully, "We figured that they'd still be asleep or somethan'..."

Rick rolled his eyes away from Lori and up to meet Shanes.

"...I think you should sit this one out, man", Shane furiously rubbed the back of his neck, "You got a lot to deal with right now- I can see it… We all can, and nobody blames you for that. We all understand... but we gotta' be a little more careful. I'm with you on protecting this group at all costs but we can't just run around blowing people's heads off like that…"

Rick stared at him. He couldn't even find the strength to look any more un-interested than he already did.

"...I think we should go in there and check 'em out. We don't like what they have to say then we can drive 'em out… Get 'em as far away from here as we can then let 'em do what they have to do. If they're as good as dead out there then at least it's not on our hands¬"

"Is that what you think?", Rick stopped rubbing Andre's back and cocked his head at Shane, "Is that what you're gonna' tell yourselves? You think it's gonna' make you sleep better at night?"

Shane shook his head as he looked over the roof of the truck, "I'm not saying that at all. They might make it out there. Chances are slim but they might. Either way, whatever happens, happens. It won't be none of our concern."

Rick averted his gaze elsewhere as he clenched his jaw.

"Just take a minute for yourself. We got in under control¬"

"Have you dealt with Lori yet?", Rick raised an eyebrow as he locked eyes with him again, "You got that under control?"

Shane's shoulders squared, "I will. I _said_ I will and I meant it"

"Then do it", Rick rasped dismissively, turning his head to signal that he was done with the conversation. Shane didn't walk away immediately. Rick imagined that he was glaring at him for a few moments before he finally did move.

He couldn't say that he cared for Shane's instructions. He also didn't care about the previous night's events. If anyone believed that he would allow Terry to even sleep within ten feet of his family, then they'd be gravely mistaken. He wouldn't even entertain the idea. He was sick of sitting back and waiting to see what could happen; waiting to see who'd be hurt next. He'd made a promise to himself to eliminate the first sign of a threat on sight, and not a moment later.

"...I get it, dad", Judith's voice traveled quietly from the back seat. Rick turned back to look at her, and saw she was still lying down but awake, "...I understand"

He gazed into her cold blue eyes, "...You don't ever miss a chance to protect yourself or your brothers, alright? You did what you were meant to do yesterday, and I'm sorry that that happened and that I wasn't there to save you, but I'm also proud of you. You took what you had and you saved yourself. I know it must have been scary but you can't let that fear getting the way of surviving…"

Judith nodded her head against the arm she was resting on, "Okay."

"That's my girl", His own set of cold blue eyes examined her closely, "Don't ever hesitate. Not with your life or with your brother's lives. They're too important."

"...I know".

Judith volunteered to watch her brother while Rick stepped out the car to stretch his legs. His eyes scoured the yard for Michonne, and he saw that she was by the Rhee's car with Andrea. Maggie was finally out of the car and speaking with them. Rick was pleased to see that.

He noticed that multiple people had looked in his direction as he walked towards the gate. He ignored them and yanked it open so that he could go out to relieve himself, but his son wasn't aware of that so he ran up behind his father in a panic, "Where are you going?"

Rick turned back to face Carl, "To use the bush. _Problem_?"

Carl huffed as his shoulders fell, "No."

Rick was about to shut the gate behind him but Carl was hot on his tail, "Where are you going?"

"With you", Carl squeezed through the small gap and closed the gate for them both, "You can't be out there on your own"

Rick eyed his son, then began to walk through the grass before the trees, "You sure you ain't coming out here to say somethan' to me?"

Carl trudged along behind him, "...Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"...What happened with Terry and Mom?"

Rick almost looked back at his son but chose not to, "...He tried to spy on her. He put a little camera in a jewelry box and gave it to her as a gift."

"When?", Carl probed, "How'd you find out?"

"...When we were divorced. They went on a date. He gave her a dollhouse for Judith and the box for herself but she gave that to Judith, too. Judith thought she broke it so took into school to get her teacher to help fix it and that's when they found the camera", Rick stopped and peered back at his son, "You gonna' follow me into the bush too? I mean I don't mind, we're both men and your my son, but I don't wanna' embarrass you"

Carl rolled his eyes as he turned the other way, "Go on."

"Thought as much", Rick pulled up beside a tree after scoping the area.

"...Is that why you killed him? Because of what he did?"

Rick wanted to groan, "...That's a big part of the reason."

"...Well, what's the other reason?", Carl projected his voice so that his father would hear him.

Rick waited until he had finished composing himself before answering his son, "I'm done taking chances."

Carl looked back at him when he realized that his father was done. The teen looked bothered by his response; his furrowed his dark brows and squinted at the ground, "...Is that because of grandma?"

Rick slowed as he reached his son. He had to think about his reply, "It's because of a lot of thangs"

Carl still didn't seem to be getting the answers he needed, "Is that how it's going to be now? We just… kill people? We don't try to talk about it or¬"

"What would you have rather done? Now that you know what he tried to do with your mother, would you have given him a chance?", Rick tilted his head in order to catch his son's attention, "You think you could have lived beside him?"

Carl shook his head adamantly, "No. I wouldn't want him near her or anyone else either… But I don't think you should have done what you did either, dad. It didn't feel right. I didn't feel like we were protecting anyone that was in immediate danger by doing that"

There was never a time that Carl reminded Rick so much of Michonne than in that moment. He looked elsewhere as he said, "That's the problem, son. I don't wanna' wait and see who's the next person in line to be taken away from us. I'm focusing in on what's happening now so I don't look have to look back in regret"

"...Do you think that grandma would still be here if you did something sooner?"

"...A lot of people would still be here if I'd done somethan' sooner", Rick muttered as he began to walk away, "Come on, let's get back inside"

He should have known that his son would want to speak with him. It was clear from his attitude that he was unhappy with recent events, and Rick didn't want to upset anyone in his family but he was growing tired of having to explain himself to them. He thought that they would be the last people on earth to need an explanation about anything from him.

They made it back to the prison in one piece. Carl volunteered to go and check on the others, and Rick had intended to go up to the building to see what was happening but he saw Maggie waiting in his path. His almost lost his footing when he looked into her eyes.

"...You alright?", He asked tepidly as he approached her.

"...Wanted to ask you the same thing…", She exhaled tiredly, her green eyes skimming all over his face, "I'm sorry, Rick"

He shook his head as he looked up towards the building, "Don't be. Did they clear it out?"

She began to frown at him, "Yeah…"

"Good", He was about to walk past her but she put her hand in his way. He raised an eyebrow at her, "Somethan' else?"

"Don't do that.", There was an edge to her tone, "Don't act like somethan' horrible hasn't happened. It ain't fair on anybody else and it ain't fair on you"

Rick stared at her hand first, then let his gaze trail up to her eyes.

"Walking around like this won't help anythan'. Everyone's worried¬"

"Then they need to take their focus off me and put it on what's happening right in front of them", He fired back firmly, "I'm not the problem here"

"You're part of it", Maggie pointed a finger at his chest, "Don't think for one second that you're not"

Rick rolled his head away from her when he was struck by a feeling that he hadn't come across in a while. It had tickled him here and there but never enough for him to completely see red. He clenched his jaw and balled his fist as he looked around him. He was beyond the point of trying to calm himself down and succumbed to the blind rage.

"Rick!", He heard Maggie call after him as he marched up the grassy bank but he ignored her.

"Dad!", He ignored Carl, too.

They had cut a hole in the fence to get to the building and Rick burst through it. He stepped over the decaying inmates scattered across the yard in search of the group, and luckily he didn't have to go far because he found them by a large metal door. Shane appeared to be speaking with Glenn, Daryl, Tyrese, Sasha, Andrea, and Michonne. They all held weapons in their hand and were listening intently to whatever he was saying. Rick snaked his way past them to their surprise and ripped the door open.

He was able to tune out their calls and hisses quite easily as he pulled his silver pistol free and stalked into the gray, cement building. It was highly secure, with two sets of doors to get from one place to another, but the doors were open, which told Rick that there were definitely people in there. He didn't think twice about walking into the first cell block, and the first thing he saw was two males sat on a metal bench playing cards.

"Get up, now!", He boomed, raising his gun to eye level, "Stand up, right now!"

"What the hell man?!", The older white man threw his hands in the air and lowered his head, while the large, young black man simply raised himself from his seat silently.

"Where are the others?!", Rick barked as he looked at the other cell doors, "Get 'em out here!"

Shane and the others poured in behind him, saving Rick the trouble of having to watch his own back. The older white man began yelling, "Thomas! Andrew! Oscar! Get out here! Come on!"

Rick surveyed the area for weapons, but all he could see was crowbars and long pieces of metal laying around. He rolled his shoulders when he heard footsteps coming from the barred door on the other end of the cell block. Three men appeared; two dark-skinned men that were the complete opposite of each other, one tall and well built and the other short and weedy, and the third was pale and of medium build. He instantly recognized the white male. Rick curled his finger at them, "Come on over here¬"

"What the fuck is going on?", Thomas squinted at all of them as he sidestepped his way closer, "Huh? Why you in here¬"

"Shut up!", Rick snapped, his eyes darting from face to face as he tried to figure out how he'd handle them, "Stand right there and don't move!"

Shane joined Rick with his rifle in his arms, and whispered to him, "What's going on here, man?"

Rick ignored him and aimed his gun at the largest dark-skinned male, "You. How many people have you killed?"

He shook his head, hurriedly, "None. I ain't killed nobody. I'm in here as an accessory- I never hurt anybody¬"

"You", Rick aimed his gun at the old white male beside him, "Same question?"

"Armed robbery, sir", The man's hands were still in the air, "Decades ago- but that's it, I ain't ever killed anyone, too"

"Where you going with this man?", Shane hissed as he glanced in Rick's direction.

"You?", Rick tilted his head at Thomas, "Go on?"

Thomas scowled at him, "Ain't you meant to be protecting and serving us?!"

Rick shook his head early slow as he spoke, "No. As you can see; times have changed, so you need to catch up"

"We already know there's infected people runnin' around out there", He shot back, pointing his hand towards the wall to signal the outside world, "So what are y'all doing about it?"

"Surviving", Rick flipped the hammer on his python.

"In here?", Thomas smirked, "Nuh-uh. Not in here. This is _ours_ \- the prisoners run this place, so y'all can leave"

"There's five of you", Shane informed firmly, "And about nine of us in here and over twenty of us all together. You like them odds?"

"Those bars can't beat a bullet either", Daryl spoke roughly as he prowled his way to the front of the group.

Thomas's face began to sour while the oldest man there began to plead, "Hey, hey hold on now folks, this is a big place- We can all hold up here, we don't need to fight or anythan¬"

"Shut up, Axel!", Thomas growled, whipping his dark ponytail through the air as he turned to look at the other man.

"It's true, man", The largest man began to squirm, "I ain't tryna' lose my life now¬"

"You're friends got some sense", Shane issued calmly, "You should listen to 'em"

"I ain't listening to nobody!", Thomas bit back, his eyes glued to Rick.

Rick's finger itched to squeeze the trigger. He could see trouble written all over Thomas's face so he aimed his weapon at the space his eyes, "Go ahead and make your move"

"You're gonna' have to fight us for this place", Thomas puffed up his chest, "Because we ain't sharing nothing with you pig cops¬"

The sound of a gun going off in such a closed capacity made Rick's ears ring. He made a mental note to never do that again, while Thoma's body fell back flat on the table behind him. Rick pointed the gun at the next man, "Same question?"

"What the fuck, man!", The small dark-skinned man cried, his hands raised, "We didn't even do nothin'!"

"Shut up, Andrew", The muscular man beside him spoke with deep, calm voice as he looked at all of the people in front of him.

"Answer the question!", Rick demanded, cocking the hammer on his pistol just as Michonne placed herself in front of it. The red mist that danced around his vision immediately dispersed and he dropped his hand to his side. He was angry for a new reason now, "Don't ever do that again, Michonne"

"Then don't make me have to", The words seemed to seep out of her mouth through gritted teeth as she stepped closer to him, "Stop it now, Rick"

"Oh God", Axel shifted away from Thomas' body, "He's really dead, ain't he?"

"You four; get in a cell. All of you, come on", Shane used his rifle to make his orders clear, "Where are the keys?"

"We don't know", The small man spat back as he edged towards a nearby cell.

"...Thomas had 'em", Axel pointed at the dead man, "They should be on him"

Shane shot the man that lied an unimpressed look as he stomped over to Thomas's body. Rick was too busy engaging in a silent Mexican stand-off with his wife to object. He raised an eyebrow at her as spoke in a low, gravelly tone, "You have somethan' to say to me?"

"I already did", He could see that she was feeling overwhelmed with something; he assumed it was anger, "Stop. It."

"You gotta' better way of handling this?"

"We are in a prison, Rick. A prison with working cells¬"

"You think you would have gotten those keys off of him when he was alive?", He frowned so hard that it hurt, "Did you not hear what he had to say¬"

"It didn't matter because they wouldn't have been able to do anything! We have the weapons!"

"Yeah, right now we do", He narrowed his eyes at her, "But what happens if one of them came across one of our guns? Or a knife? That sword of yours? You willing to see what could happen to Carl or Judith¬"

"We aren't stupid, Rick", She raised her pointer at him, "Every single one of us knows that anyone can be capable of anything¬"

He scoffed at her, "Are you sure about that? Because it seems as if everyone's only focus is me and nothing else!"

"And you wonder why?!", She threw her hand back behind her to point at Thomas, "That's why! You are scaring people!"

He squinted at his wife as he pointed to his chest, "Me? M- _Me_? I'm scaring people?"

"Yes, you!"

" _I'm_ scaring you?", He began to smirk out of disbelief as he looked back at his group. His eyes found his son first, "Carl? Am I scaring you, Carl? What about you Sasha? Daryl?"

No one said a thing as they watched the uncomfortable scene before them. Michonne ran a hand over her face as she tried to compose herself, "You need to stop, and take a step back"

He whipped his head back around to look at his wife, "You wanna' know why I can't? Do you wanna' know why I can't do that Michonne? Because then people _die_. You've seen that for yourself haven't you? You haven't had your head buried in the sand since this whole damn thang started¬"

"Don't talk to me like that", She warned.

"How else am I meant to say it?", He put his hands on his side as he lowered his voice and loomed closer, "Huh? How else do you wanna' hear it? You want me to whisper it to you so you understand it better?"

"I said don't talk to me like that!"

"How else am I meant to say it!", He roared, throwing his hands in the air as he exploded, "None of you seem to get it! You're all wrapped up and caught up in thangs that don't matter when the real danger is right in front of your face! You wanna' talk and you wanna' plan and none of it works! None of it! But you know what does work? That!"

He pointed to Thomas's body, but Michonne didn't look. Some part of her was trembling, he couldn't tell where but he could tell. She looked him directly in the eyes when she hissed, "Get away from me."

Rick eyed her for a few more seconds. She was no longer looking at him like she didn't know who he was, but the downside was that she was looking at him like she knew exactly who he was and she was mortified by him. He feared that if he reached out and touched her she would lose her mind, so he stalked away in the other direction.

If he were being honest with himself, he would admit that he felt relieved. Voicing his opinion for all to hear saved him the hassle of having to repeat himself time and time again, but he didn't like the fact that his argument with his wife was the mouthpiece for that.

He left the building with the intention of getting away from the group. The others were still milling around on the grass area waiting for the signal to pack up and move, but none of them rushed to approach him. He was sure that they could see the thunder in his eyes from where they stood.

It was at that point that it all changed. He would never be able to explain what made him look at Shane's truck for as long as he did, but once it caught his eye he noticed something strange. He could see Lori sitting in the driver's seat through the rear window and her head was facing forward. Rick surveyed the rest of the camp as he began walking towards it, realizing that everyone was too busy tending to their own needs to have noticed her.

He walked up to the passenger side with his fist raised so that he could knock on the window but he never got around to knocking. As soon as he saw Milly laid out across the seat with her head in her mother's lap, he yanked the door open in distress.

There was so much blood covering the girl's body that he couldn't tell where she was wounded. He couldn't even see the yellow daisy's on her dress anymore. He frowned up at Lori, "...What did you do?"

Lori finally turned her head and looked at him. She had marks on her face and neck that looked like bloody fingerprints. She dropped her listless gaze to her daughter, "...She's fine. Leave her alone."

"What did you do to _her_?", Rick pulled the girl towards him by her limp legs, and Lori lunged for her arms.

"Don't touch her! You leave her alone!", She protested, trying to get a good hold on her daughter but Rick scooped her body into his arms.

"Milly?", Rick shook her a little as his eyes scoured her face for any signs of life, "Can you hear me? Milly?"

"Give her back to me!", Lori brought her quivering hands up to her face as she pleaded, "You can't hurt her, Rick!"

Rick heard the screams as he stumbled away from the car. He tried to shake her once more but all he did was move her. Her skin was pale and eyes half open like she was staring off into the distance. That was when he learned that his efforts were pointless. Maggie made her way over to him first with her hand to her throat, eyes jittering in horror. Rick shook his head at her, "Don't come any closer. Get her father, now- somebody! Get him!"

"What happened?", Dale breathed, his eyes darting everywhere, "What- where's Lori? What is going on?"

"Oh God", Herschel shook his head with despair as he caught up with his daughter and turned her away from the sight, "Oh God, no"

Rick adjusted his hold on her as he looked back into the truck. Lori was still sat there, staring out the windshield as she mumbled to herself. Rick leered at her as he felt that rage begin to simmer again. The only reason he turned away from her was that he heard a commotion coming his way, and sure enough Shane was barreling towards him with wide, frantic eyes. His eyes darted up and down as he tried to take in the image, and when that was of no use he took his daughter out of Rick's hands and fell to the floor as he began to shake, "...No...No, Milly? Milly, baby, please?... No, no- what… no- what happened? What happened?!"

Rick stepped aside so that Shane could see Lori for himself, and she was already beginning to scoot to the passenger side of the vehicle, "I was waiting for you- It's okay, it's okay Shane, just look at her"

Shane's skin was almost as lifeless as his daughters. He shook his head at Lori as his large brown eyes jotted around her face, "No. No. You didn't do this- you wouldn't do this¬"

Lori crouched down in front of him and stroked Milly's hair, "I told you, I wasn't going to let them hurt her… And look? She's okay now. Look how peaceful she looks"

Shane's face crumbled as he fiercely pulled his daughter away from her, "No. No! No! No! You weren't supposed to do this to her! You were meant to protect her!"

"I did!", Lori pleaded. She shook her head repeatedly while grabbing on to Milly's dress, "Don't do that! Don't!"

"Don't you touch her!"

Rick couldn't believe what he was watching. He backed away slowly with his gun in hand, certain that he would have to be the one to put an end to the scene but he saw Shane pull out a small, black pistol from his waistband and point it at Lori, "Get away from her!"

Rick was probably the only person that didn't look away when he fired his gun twice. He didn't even blink. He saw it coming. Lori fell on her side in a heap, gasping for air for a few seconds before she stopped. Shane wailed as he threw the gun to one side and cradled his daughter to his chest, begging for her to wake up.

No one said anything, and no one moved. Anyone that did, walked around mindlessly as they tried to understand what had just happened. Rick scratched his brow with his thumb and walked away. He couldn't take it anymore. He saw Carl crouching down with his head in his hands while Michonne was stood beside him with a sunken chest. Rick stopped by his son and squeezed his shoulder, just to let him know he was there for him. He didn't intend to say anything to Michonne but he caught sight of the tears rolling down her cheek. He whispered in her ear as he stepped around her, "This ends _now_."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

Crying was something that Michonne used to consider to be therapeutic. She thought that being able to release such intense emotions could help a person to heal, but as she cried uncontrollably in the back of her husband's truck that morning, she wondered if she'd ever stop. She didn't know what time it was but she could see the sun beginning to peak beyond the trees. They had moved their belongings inside the cell block the previous evening, in spite of one particular inmate's protests. She had no idea what her husband planned to do that day but she didn't care.

A gentle rapping on the window made her jump, and she looked up to see that it was Andrea, wrapped in a blanket as she peered inside. Michonne wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and unlocked the car.

"I thought I was the only one that couldn't sleep", Andrea sighed as she climbed inside, "But I guess I was wrong"

Michonne nodded as she tried to hide her jagged breaths.

Andrea patted her lap as she sat back in the seat, "Alright, come on. Let it out. I already saw you crying up a storm in here"

Michonne looked at her best friends legs and sighed. She curled up on the seat and laid down on her, "...I don't know what to do Andrea"

Andrea began smoothing back her hair, "You gotta' be more specific there, hun'. We've got a few problems under our belt right now"

" _Everything_...I'm trying so hard to just keep it together but… it's all just getting too much", She blew out an unsteady breath, "First Susan, then Milly… And Rick's right- I know he's right about taking precautions but he's just¬"

"Out of control", Andrea agreed, "He's pointing that gun around too much"

"I know… I wanted to take it yesterday morning but he would have just got another one… I tried talking to him and he just told me to stay out of his way…", Michonne rolled her eyes shut, "...I don't know what to do…"

"It isn't up to you to fix everything", Andrea insisted softly, "It's not even up to Rick to fix everything. We're a group, we work together to protect each other and to help each other. It's not up to any one person to make sure that things run smoothly here...I mean, yeah I get it, Rick's great at problem-solving and he's not afraid to put himself out there for us but… he still needs us. He still needs you…"

Michonne gently shook her head, "I don't think so anymore. He's keeping me at arm's length…"

Andrea groaned as she leaned back against the headrest, "He's going through some stuff right now...You know that. I know that. I think he knows that too, he's just not ready to admit it"

"But that's not fair…", Michonne began to frown, "I lost my dad the exact same way… I saw him as one of those things- I never even got to bury him… And it still hurts- it doesn't go away, it doesn't just vanish because I'm not talking about it… it still hurts and… I never pushed him away because of it. He would never let me push him away- he'd never leave me alone…"

"I know", Andrea began to smooth her hand over her hair again, "And no one thinks that the pain just vanishes… But you're both… you're both _weird_ , okay? It's like you don't want people to see that you're upset and it doesn't make sense to me because we know you are. You don't get extra brownie points for powering on like nothing happened. Look at Maggie? And Glenn? They're hurting and they aren't afraid to let us see that… You don't let think any less of them for that, do you?"

"Of course not", Michonne exhaled as she wiped her tears away again, "I just want to be there for her"

"Uh, _hello_? We want to be there for you guys too. It's not one sided around here."

Michonne placed her hand on her knee, "Thank you"

"Don't mention it…", Andrea sighed again as she looked out the window, "...I don't know what's going to happen today…"

"Neither do I"

"...Shane's still out there. He hasn't left her all night.", Andrea's voice began to wobble, "It's just horrible how it happened"

Michonne stared at the seat in front of her, "...I thought that Shane would get himself killed trying to help her…Or that she'd hurt herself but she hurt Milly…"

Her mind flashed to Carl, and she wondered how he was. She knew that her son suffered from the same problem that his father did and he'd question what he could have done to save her. The more she thought about it the more she realized that Lori's problem was right in front of their faces; Lori hadn't allowed Milly to join the other children since their stay at Dale's bar. She purposely stayed as far away as possible from everyone else. The only person that did get close enough was Carol, but Michonne had only seen them speak a handful of times.

Rick's predictions were correct. There was no doubting that and she didn't wholeheartedly disagree with his point, but she couldn't fathom why he was so unwilling to cooperate with her, or with anyone for that matter. He was angry with the world and everyone was in his firing line, including her.

Andrea sat with her for a while longer before Michonne decided they should go in the cell block. Andre was probably awake, and they had yet to look around the premises properly.

The inmates were moved so that they occupied the cells on one end of the block and the group took the cells on the other side. The place was relatively clean but old and gray. Most cells had two bunks but a few had only one. Andrea had claimed herself one of the single bunk cells. Michonne didn't have to look far for her toddler because he was running around with Demi, chasing each other around in circles in front of Beth and Cleo, and as per usual, her son wasn't wearing any pants over his diaper.

"Thank you", Michonne gently squeezed Beth's shoulder as she came up behind her, "Hope he hasn't been too much trouble"

"No… they've been too busy with each other to notice me", The young girl replied lightly as she looked up at her with large blue eyes, "He spilled some juice on his pants, but I didn't know where you put them"

"I'll get them", Michonne hurried past the toddlers so that they wouldn't run into her and went to the cell where she'd unloaded their things. She was expecting to find Judith in there because she'd left both of her younger children in there to sleep but Rick was sat on the bottom bunk with his hands clasped in front of him as he stared at the ground. Michonne walked in and began silently looking through the bags.

"Where'd you sleep last night?", He asked in a gravelly tone after watching her for a few moments.

She kneeled to look in one of the garbage bags. Her back was beginning to hurt, "...In the truck."

She could feel his eyes on her as he said, "...There's plenty of room in here. You didn't have to do that."

"I know", She plucked a pair of blue pant out of the bag and frowned, not sure if they'd fit the growing toddler anymore, "I'm going to take one of the cells up top."

"... _Yeah_? You think that's necessary?", There was a change to his tone that she didn't like.

She purposely kept her own tone even. She wasn't going to argue, "I do"

The bed creaked as he stood up. He stepped closer until loomed over her, "Is there somethan' happening here that I should know about?"

Michonne exhaled rather loudly as she reached to the bottom of the bag. She felt his knee brush her back as he crouched down behind her.

"...You stepped in front my gun Michonne¬"

"Because you were out of control, Rick", She countered easily.

"I knew exactly what I was doing", He was beginning to growl, "But what you did- that's somethan' I can't get over. That was reckless¬"

"Really?", She turned her head slightly as if she were going to look back at him, " _This_ is what you're choosing to talk about? Out of everything that's happened over these last few days, it's what I did yesterday that has you bent out of shape?"

He adjusted his stance, "Is there somethan' else you wanna' say to me?"

She rolled her eyes as she faced forward again, "Where's Judith?"

He stared at the back of her head, "With Sasha and Lilly."

"And Carl?"

His reply was delayed, "...He took one of the single bunks"

"Fine.", Michonne should have known. She heard him stand, and she was glad. She hated the way he hovered over her when he was in a confrontational mood. She pretended to keep looking for a pair of pants for Andre even though she already did; she was just waiting for him to leave first.

"I want you to hang back today while I check out the rest of this place", He said a little firmly, "We're taking them with us"

Michonne stilled, "What for?"

"We're not dealing with them here. We already brought everybody inside"

"Well you're going to need people to help", She held the pants in her hand as she stood up to face him, "Shane doesn't look like he'll be joining us anytime soon"

Rick looked her from head to toe, "Where is he?"

"Where'd you think?", She frowned at him, "Still out there"

Her husband slowly looked back the cell door, then at her, "I still want you to hang back here. There's enough of us."

Michonne couldn't find the strength to argue with him. It was getting clear to her that it didn't matter whether she was there or not; he was going to do what he wanted to do. She walked passed him without another word.

She still had her children to worry about. Luckily Andre was back in the company of his dearest little friend so he was able to forget about his first encounter with a corpse for a while. The older children were not as fortunate and were very much aware of what was happening around them. After wrestling the pants on Andre she went up to find Carl on the second level of the cellblock, where he was laid out on his bunk, staring up at the ceiling.

Michonne walked in and joined him, "How are you doing?"

Carl shrugged, "No better than anyone else".

She sat on the bunk first, then swung her legs up and laid down too. To her surprise, there were a rather x-rated collection of pictures showing half dressed women stuck directly above the bed. She groaned, "What the hell?"

"I know", Carl sighed, "I was going to take them down but… What's the point? They don't mean anything. Those girls might all be dead."

Michonne frowned as she thought about that, "...Maybe. I still don't want you looking at that though."

Carl smirked, "I'll take them down."

"Thank you.", She huffed as she placed her hands on her stomach, "I know it hasn't been easy lately but some of us haven't completely lost our minds. I'm still your mother…"

Michonne stopped herself when she realized what she was about to say. Carl tilted his head to look at her, "You are."

"...I know, but…", She slowly inhaled, "...She was still your mother, too. She may not have raised you and you may not have spoken but it was because of her and your father that you're here. That still means something… that's allowed to mean something to you"

Carl averted his gaze back to the ceiling, "It doesn't. It never has, mom."

Michonne couldn't fault him for that. He was never interested in his birth mother.

"...I just don't get why she'd kill Milly… It doesn't make sense to me", Carl confessed quietly, "If she wasn't happy and she hurt herself then… I could understand that… I wouldn't agree with it but it would make sense…but why Milly?"

Michonne tried her best to give him an answer, "I think she might have thought that she was doing something good. Maybe she thought she was protecting her from everything and everyone…"

"By killing her? That…that doesn't make sense, Milly would have been in pain and scared and…", Carl's dark brows furrowed together furiously, "...I'm sick of seeing things happen to people that don't deserve it…"

It was Michonne's turn to look at him, "...I know. We thought bringing everyone in here would make us all safe but now we've got a whole new set of problems…"

Carl gave a slow, understanding nod of his head, "Yeah."

She averted her gaze to the rest of his cell, "...You're gonna' stay up here on your own?"

"I don't have to. I can share with Judith… You and dad take Andre."

Michonne shook her head, "No. I think Judith will probably pair up with Lily. I'm going to take take a cell up here"

Carl didn't immediately respond to her, "...Because of what happened yesterday?"

"...I guess you can say that.", Her son was one of the few people that could quickly gain an understanding of a situation without having to ask too many questions. She rarely had to explain herself to him. He knew both of his parents well enough to know that when there was a lot of tension between them, some space was necessary or it would only get worse.

She and Carl listened from his bunk as Rick rounded up a group on the ground below. They heard them release the inmates and lead them away, so when the coast was clear they emerged from the cell.

The group was trying to get themselves acquainted with their new quarters. They unpacked their bags and explored the only safe place that they had. Michonne rummaged around Rick's cell to find the few clothes that she had and separated all of the children's belongings. Judith wasted no time claiming a cell with Lily, which was something she expected.

"Here's your stuff", She put two tall piles of clothes on the metal desk opposite the bunk, "We need to find a washroom or something in here¬"

"My mom said we can wash everything by hand", Lily piped from the top bunk as she yanked her biker boots from her feet and dropped them on the ground, "And hang them up to dry"

"That's true, we'll figure it out later… But just put your dirty clothes to one side for now", Michonne agreed as she turned around to face both girls. She noticed that they both looked bothered as if they were carrying heavy hearts. She tilted her head as she let her gaze jump back and forth from one to the other, "How are you girls feeling?"

Lily's green eyes trickled downward, "...Sad."

"Yeah.", Judith agreed quietly, "...Why'd Lilly's mama do that to her?"

Michonne blew out a breath, "She wasn't seeing things properly. We don't think she was well"

Lily started to frown, "...Oh."

Both girls remained quiet for a while before Judith asked a sensible question as brought her legs up to her chest as she got comfortable on her bed, "Is it safe here?"

"That's what your father's gone to find out", Michonne answered lightly, "But we're okay in here"

Her daughter didn't look convinced, "...Not with those bad men still alive."

Michonne bit her lip for a second, then grabbed a wooden stool that was hidden away under the desk. She put herself right in front of both of them, "They might be bad men, but we won't know that until they do something bad¬"

"But if they were in here then they were bad", Judith ejected bitterly, "You know that, mama"

"I do, but it's not always as black and white as that...And things aren't like how they were before so people change because they want to survive¬"

"But what if they're still bad?", Lily asked with a little frown as she peered down at Michonne.

She huffed, "...If they're still bad men then we have to figure out what we do with them. Your safety comes first, and we can't let anything happen to you kids"

"...Then shouldn't we be listening to daddy?", Judith gave her mother a skeptical look as if she were wondering why her mother couldn't see the that the answer was right in front of her.

"We have to listen to everyone", Michonne reasoned, "The responsibility of all of us doesn't just fall on one person. We all pitch in and we all try to help every way that we can, otherwise, it wouldn't be fair on him to expect him to come up with a solution every time we have a problem."

Judith lowered her bright blue eyes as lines appeared on her forehead, "...I never thought of it that way before…"

"Thought I'd find you in here", Maggie appeared at the cell door, holding Andre on her hip, "Sorry to interrupt but this little guy was looking for you"

Michonne smiled at her friend and son, "It's alright, let him loose"

Maggie set him down and Andre chose to make a beeline for the bed instead of his mother. He tried to climb onto the bunk to join his sister but failed, so Judith helped him up. Maggie leaned on the cell door, "You finished unpacking?"

"Yeah. All done. What are you doing?"

"Gonna' go check out that watchtower with Andrea", Maggie dropped her gaze for a second, "Thought we'd try to get him inside?"

Michonne knew she was talking about Shane. She nodded, "It would be great if you could…"

"Yeah…", Maggie looked over at the girls, "You girls want something to do? Beth could use some help with these little devils"

Judith groaned as she pulled her hair free from Andre's grip, "...Alright."

Hearing her daughters thoughts on what the group should do when it came to strangers didn't come as a surprise to Michonne. Judith was inclined to side with her father on most things and often shared a similar view, but unlike Rick, Judith would at least listen to another point of view.

Michonne stood by the fence with her katana in hand as she watched Maggie and Andrea enter the watchtower. She wanted to be on standby just in case there was someone or something hidden away in there. Hershel and Dale weren't too far away from her, busying themselves with the RV and talking amongst themselves.

She suspected that one of the two men had helped pry Milly away from Shane because he was no longer sat with her dead body in the front yard, instead he seemed to be cleaning out his truck. Michonne looked up to see if the ladies had made it to the watchtower and she saw Andrea appear first, then Maggie. When it was clear to her that they were fine, she ventured onto the overgrown lawn alone.

She didn't know what she planned to say to Shane, and she would have left the job to somebody else if it didn't look as though she was mulling around doing nothing. She wanted to keep him at arm's length because she felt as though something was brewing beneath his exterior and that 'something' made her uncomfortable, but having just lost his daughter and killing her mother, she felt as though she'd be safe to offer him her condolences.

"...Hey", She waited until he'd stopped scrubbing the blood from his seats to speak and kept a friendly distance away, so she didn't spook him.

Shane only looked in her direction for a second. The rag he used to clean away the blood was dirty and his hands stained, "Wha-what's happening? What's going on?"

She shook her head, "Nothing, everyone's inside… They're just checking out the rest of this place"

He appeared to give a quick nod as he continued to stare past the fence and through the trees, his eyes glazed over and void of any warmth.

Michonne kept her attention on her boots as she spoke, "I'm sorry. We all are. I know that probably sound like much right now but it's true... What happened wasn't right and it's wasn't fair"

"No", He sniffed, still looking elsewhere, "It wasn't fair at all..."

There was some strain to his voice as if he was trying his best to respond to her without falling apart. She followed his expressionless start, "You're going to blame yourself, you might even want to punish yourself, but try not to lose sight of everything else when that happens because I think the 'guilt' rabbit hole is the deepest¬"

"There's blame here… and It falls on me", He responded coldly, "Y'all warned me, and I just… I couldn't see it. I couldn't see whatever it was that you did"

Michonne remained quiet out of respect.

"...I never thought in a million years that she'd…", Pain flashed across his face, "I was stupid. I was stupid and my girl paid the price for it. I had to lose her to see that you were right. Rick was right… You can't sit back and wait for somethan' to happen anymore. You do that and you'll lose everything."

Michonne cleared her throat and looked in the other direction, "...Yeah."

He pursed his lips as he shook his head, "There is nothing else. Not for me. Not anymore"

It was tempting to refute that claim, she knew it would be unwise, "That's how it feels, but there is. There is light at the end of that tunnel but you just have to find it...It takes a while but you will find it."

Shane looked at her for the first time since she'd joined him, but only for a few seconds, "...I don't plan on staying here for much longer"

Michonne's eyebrows slowly rose, "...You're planning to leave?"

"...When I can I will. The whole reason we came over here was to get our families to safety and… I don't have one anymore. I haven't got anyone to protect anymore¬"

"We'd still need your help", She insisted a little firmly, "I don't mean to sound like… like that's all your good for but we need to stick together. You'd need us if you went out there on your own like we'd need you here"

Shane didn't attempt to reply or give her any indication that he even heard her.

Michonne began to turn around, "...We can't stop you from going if you really want to but…maybe think about it first. I understand if you feel like it's going to be difficult to stay around here but… We don't have the luxury of finding places like this just anywhere, so really think about it. That's all I'm going to ask from you."

"Fine.", He peered at her with serious eyes, "...And I'm gonna' ask you to think about coming with me"

Michonne stopped moving, "Excuse me?"

"I said I want you to think about coming with me", He repeated his request easily, and she felt all the muscles in her face tighten. He raised his hand as if he knew that her mind was beginning to race, "Hold on... I know, I know what that sounds like and that's not how I want it to sound¬, not like _that_. I mean, I know what's making me say this¬"

"I know exactly what you mean", She crossed her arms over her chest as her brow creased, "And I think you need to stop right there¬"

"You're not happy. I know you're not and I'm probably not the only person that knows it", Shane used his diplomatic voice to make his point, "But I'm probably the only one willing to do something about it¬"

"Shane, with all due respect, don't let what has happened to you cloud your better judgment", Michonne warned, "There's already too much of that going on around here¬"

"I'm not asking you to run off into the sunset with me", Shane took a tiny step closer, "I know what this sounds like but I'm not thinking that way. I'm focusing on the fact that you and I think the same. We want to handle things the same way, and that ain't gonna' work here- Rick ain't willing to let that work here so what's the point in sticking around and fighting with him every step of the way? Huh? Is that what you want?"

She could admit to herself that it wasn't something she wanted, and the thought of having to go toe to toe with her husband over every decision that concerned the group made her chest hurt, but she wasn't about to confide in Shane either.

"We go out there and I'd listen to you and I know you'd listen to me. We'd look out for each other and we'd find us a place somewhere like this. Carl might not take to the idea but Judith and Andre are still young, they still need their mama and they'd come along¬"

The way that Shane stopped talking when his eyes darted behind her let her know that they were no longer alone, but it took her a moment to react because she was still quite stunned by his argument. She snapped out of it when she saw a visibly annoyed Judith was stood by the tail end of Shane's truck and in a split second any hope of trying to talk some sense into the grieving man, in order to prolong his lifespan, was swiftly thrown out the window. Rick's second pair of ears had caught wind of their discussion so the chances of keeping it between the two of them were non-existent. Shane might as well have gone directly to Rick and told him to his face that he wanted to tear his family apart for a second time.

Michonne perked up and walked away from him without another word. She took Judith by her shoulder to turn her around but her daughter's fierce gaze stayed locked on Shane. Michonne prompted her to move, "Come on, let's go".


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

"...Where are the inmates?"

Rick wiped his damp brow with the back of his hand as strolled up to Dale and Hershel in the cell block. He glanced back towards the door they'd just emerged from to make sure Tyrese was closing it behind them, "...Two of them got their own cell block now."

"Two? Weren't there four of them?", Dale probed carefully.

"Yeah." Rick answered easily as he began walking away from them, "Now there's two."

He didn't realize just how much blood he had on him until he looked down at himself. It didn't bother him anymore, but members of the group appeared shocked to see him in such a state. He ignored them and went straight to his cell, where he was surprised to see that only two bags remained on the floor where there was once a pile. It occurred to him that his older children must have taken their things. So did Michonne. He rolled his eyes as he snatched one of them up from the ground and sat on the metal desk opposite his desk.

"...I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to ask you just what happened when you were gone…"

Rick glanced at Hershal as he stood by his cell door, "Does it matter?"

"Everything matters", Herschel replied in his usual soothing tone, "The state of the world doesn't change that."

Rick slowly inhaled as he stopped looking around the small room, "We looked around and found a library…showers, another canteen, then the basement. That's where one of them got bit… Tiny, I think his name was. Right on his back… The other one… the small one, he killed him then and there."

Herschel furrowed his silver brows as he quipped, "I see... What else?"

"When we were leaving he tried to get a hold of Sasha's gun, so I shot him", Rick explained bluntly, "Then we cleared out the other cell block and told the other two they can have that one. We're gonna' give them their stuff when we get around to it."

The older man slowly nodded his head as he looked elsewhere.

Rick stared at him, "They weren't coming back in here. I wasn't going to allow that."

"I know you wouldn't, and I can see your reasons why…", Herschel lowered his voice, "But I think the more courteous thing to do here...would be to give them their things sooner, rather than later. We've kicked them out of what essentially was their home for God knows how many years...Those things are all they have. I think that would probably be the right thing to do."

Rick shrugged, "You're probably right."

Herschel shoved his hands in pockets as he was about to turn around but he stopped, "...Do you believe we're safer now?"

It was a simple but loaded question. Rick averted his gaze elsewhere, "No."

He was being truthful. The only way that any of them would be any safer is if he could turn the prison into some kind of fortress. With Herschel gone, he began searching for clean clothes and managed to find a clean shirt when his daughter appeared at his cell door, and he did a double take when he saw the mean expression she wore; her dark brows were low and her lips pursed together tightly. Rick raise his eyebrow at her, "Come'ere"

Judith stepped into the room with her arms crossed over her chest.

"What's the matter?", He scrutinized her with his eyes, trying to figure out the source of her upset.

She placed herself beside him, "I heard something from Milly's daddy that I didn't like"

Rick began to narrow his eyes, "You heard somethan' from him? What was that?"

"He was talking to mama..."

Rick dropped the shirt on the table and turned to face her, "Yeah? And what did he say?"

"...He said he wanted to find someplace else to go", Judith revealed in a low, but sour tone. She was the only one of his children to have a hint of a southern twang, which he put down to the fact that he had the most influence on her in her early years, and when she was mad it seemed to come out even more, "Somewhere like this..."

Rick began to narrow his eyes at her, "And what did your mother say about that?"

"I don't know, I couldn't hear her", Judith gave him a little shrug, "But I heard him say that she should go with him because he'd listen to her and she'd listen to him"

Rick tilted his head towards her as he asked, "Is that so?"

Judith's curls bounced around as she nodded her head, "And he said me and Andre would go along with them, but I don't want to go anywhere with him"

Rick continued to stare at his daughter for a while longer as he tried to digest what she'd just said to him, but it was as if his brain was unable to comprehend her words.

"...I liked Milly but I don't think I like her daddy very much", Judith averted her frosty gaze elsewhere as she sneered, "...I don't think mama should talk to him anymore"

Rick exhaled deeply as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "I need you to keep your eyes open for that kind of stuff, alright?"

Judith nodded her head a second time, "Yeah."

"Good girl. Where are your brothers?"

"...Carl's watching Andre with Beth and Demi… Mama's with aunt Maggie's in the kitchen helping Patricia"

"Alright. Go join them", Rick kept himself calm and composed in front of his daughter, and he even managed to keep that exterior as he walked back into the cell block and out the door, but beneath it all was a different story.

At no point in time did Rick stop having his suspicions about Shane. He never trusted him and he never wanted to. He could remember the first time that the man laid his eyes on Michonne and how quickly he tried to swoop in on her. Even beyond that first encounter, there was something about the way Shane looked at his wife that made Rick uncomfortable. His behavior and his attitude was always respectful but his gaze always lingered for a moment too long, and Rick honestly believed that Shane would pounce when he felt he had the opportunity, but he didn't think that he'd be stupid enough to try such a thing while Rick was alive.

He hadn't even taken his wife's position into consideration because that would require much deeper thought, and for the moment his focus was solely on Shane.

The sun had almost set and it was getting rather dark outside when he made it to the lawn, figuring that Shane would be with his truck. He had a machete on one side and his pistol on the other, but not in his hand. If he was going to do anything to Shane then he wanted to do it with his bare hands but he still liked having the option to shoot or maim him.

Shane noticed him walking towards him and pushed off of his truck. Everything about his expression let Rick know that he knew exactly why he was coming over, and he squared his shoulders in preparation.

Rick places himself a few feet away from him. His gaze danced all around Shane's face as he scratched his brow with his thumb, "...I heard that you made some bad choices today?"

Shane threw a soiled rag into the back of his truck, "It might sound that way."

"Might?", Rick tilted his head to one side, "You think that ' _might_ ' would be the correct word to use?"

"...She ain't happy here", Shane put his hands at his sides, "I was trying to offer her a way out"

Rick narrowed his eyes at him, "So because you thought that she's not happy, you appointed yourself as the one to step in and fix that?"

"I never said all that", Shane shrugged, "I just said that I know she ain't happy here and was trying to offer her a way out"

"So you're finally offering someone somethan' after taking for so long?"

Shane sighed deeply as he lowered his head.

Rick moved closer to him as his voice got progressively louder, "Hell, you'd have more reasons to offer me somethan' before you offered my wife, because I'm the one that found your daughter when her mother ran off with her, and I'm the one that gave her the money to put a roof over their heads and, and I'm the one that gave you a job at my sheriff's department, and I'm the one that told you that somethan' wasn't right with her in the first place, and in case you forgot I'm the one that took your daughter from her mother yesterday and I gave her right to you!"

Shane lifted his head ever so slightly.

"I did all of that after you ran off with my son's mother. Not before. After.", Rick cocked his head to one side as he looked at the other man, "Now you wanna' repay me by trying to take my wife and my kids from me? You really think you're somethan' special?"

"I don't think I'm anything special", Shane rubbed the back of his head furiously, "And like I said, I was offering her a way out. I'd offer any of them a way out if they wanted it¬"

"Did you make your offer to Andrea? Dale? Maggie? Beth?"

Shane shrugged for a second time, "I would have¬"

"But you didn't", Rick looked him dead in the eye, "You thought you'd ask Michonne and you even had the nerve to mention my kids, too¬"

"I mentioned them because I know she wouldn't leave without them¬"

"You wouldn't have made it past that damn fence", The words sprayed out of Rick's mouth like venom, "I would have torn you apart"

Shane clenched his jaw, "See, that right there's problem with you Rick"

Rick squinted at him, "You've seen me kill men for less"

"That's exactly the problem!", Shane finally put some bass in his tone, "You're running around here like you got a damn screw loose! You ain't listening to anybody- not even your own wife! How the hell is anyone meant to trust you or feel safe around you when you don't put that damn gun down? Huh? Because I don't trust you and I can see that no one else does either but they're all too damn scared to say anything to you"

"Was that your reason?", Rick raised an eyebrow at him.

"Part of it", Shane scoffed as he set his hands back at his sides again, "I wasn't gonna' force anybody to do anything they didn't want to, but I was gonna' let them know that they had that option, because between watching you marching all over the place and seeing my daughters grave over there- I was ready to go. I was ready to pack up and leave, and you may not wanna' hear this but I can tell what Michonne's thinking"

"Oh, you do?", Rick's eyebrows sprung upward as he appeared amused, all while his hand was yearning to feel his pistol in his hand.

"I can see how she feels about all this. The way you're acting towards her... and I thought she deserved better so I asked her..."

"There it is", Rick sneered at him, "There's the real reason"

"Maybe it is…", Shane shrugged a second time, "...She didn't shoot me down."

Rick pulled his pistol free and cocked the hammer, "Because she wouldn't have to. I will."

Shanes dark eyes fell on his weapon, and he smirked, "You're getting predictable"

"I don't care."

Shane sniffed as he stood up straight and puffed out his chest, "If this is how you wanna' handle this then fine. Get that out the way and let's handle this like men then. No hiding behind your damn gun"

Rick threw the pistol aside, then did the same with his machete all while he kept his glare on Shane, "I haven't got a problem with that"

Shane charged at him first, grabbing him around the waist while Rick started pounding on his back with his fist. He fell hard on the grass and they began their tussle.

Being able to release all his pent-up anger through violence was shamefully therapeutic for Rick, and Shane would prove to be the perfect opponent. He managed to land three or four solid punches on his cheek and jaw but took too long to make the fifth blow so Rick was able to throw his fist directly at his nose and subsequently knock him off of him.

There was no other way for them settle this problem. Rick didn't get the opportunity to have it out with him after learning he'd ran off with Lori, and by the time he made an appearance in his life again he no longer cared about their deceit, but this time was different for many reasons. If anything, this time was considerably worse.

He kept one hand on Shanes' throat while he used the other to pummel him, hitting his face over and over until he couldn't tell whose blood was on his knuckles. Shane growled from beneath him and began grabbing for Ricks' face, forcing him to lean back enough for Shane to shove him away.

Rick was tempted to look for his pistol but he didn't want to take his eyes off Shane, and it was a good thing that he didn't because he saw him brandish a small blade. Rick raised an eyebrow at him as he crawled to his feet, "Fight like a man, huh?"

Shane took his time to stand and spit blood to the grass on his way up, "Somebody has to stop you"

"...You think you could do that?", Rick tilted his head forward as he asked the question.

"I know I can¬"

"Michonne is _mine_ ", Rick hurled the words at him, "Her kids are _mine_ and keeping them safe is my priority¬ And that should have been yours! I told you to figure out what you were gonna' do with Lori but did you? Did you do anythan' about it, Shane?"

Shane's eyes inflamed with anger as they flickered all over his face.

"You were too busy watching Michonne", Rick ignored the throbbing pain radiating through his chest when he spoke, "Too busy wondering if my wife was happy when you should have been wondering if your daughter was safe"

No sooner had the words left Ricks' mouth did Shane lung for him, swinging the blade through the air as he tried to catch Rick. He darted one way or another, narrowly missing the weapon until Shane stuck the blade in his shoulder. Rick grabbed hold of his hand as he was struck with a searing pain in his left side. They remained locked in place until Shane tried to drag the knife downward, but Rick through his head forward and caught him hard on the nose, leading him to fall back in a daze.

Rick pulled the weapon from his flesh and chucked it far away from his reach. He was mad before, but now he was irate. He pounced on Shane before he could find his footing and sent a flurry of blows to his head using both fists. The adrenaline was enough to make him forget the pain for several moments but he couldn't keep it up for long. Blood was staining his shirt, his cheek was starting to swell and he felt weak in the knees from being flung to the ground earlier.

Shane was almost unrecognizable. He tried to grab hold of Rick's wrists but failed so many times that he resulted to trying to shove a finger in his new wound. Rick barked out of pain and Shane snuck punch to his already tender jaw.

Rick was losing the ability to hold himself up and fell to the grass in a heap. He panted loudly while Shane coughed and splattered everywhere. Neither of them seemed to have the strength to make another move, but Rick would summon the energy to kill him. He lifted his head and started to look for his pistol when he saw Shane roll to his side.

Rick was forced to do the same but made the mistake of putting his weight on his injured shoulder. He paused to gather his senses, and it was then that he saw something sparkle in the moonlight a few feet away from him. Shane made it to his knees and they locked eyes. Rick lunged again for his gun while Shane stumbled towards his truck.

Rick started firing shots as soon as he held his weapon and followed his target to the other side of the truck. He heard the engine start and the headlights lit up the yard but that didn't stop him, he kept shooting at the back window and at one of the tires, but Shane peeled off through the overgrowth and directly through the already weak fence, his tail lights disappearing in the distance.

Rick would have gone after him, and he didn't rule out the possibility of looking for him either, but he was feeling light-headed and his shoulder was beginning to burn. He had to get back up to the prison and warn the others about the fence, but he couldn't ignore the pain in his chest anymore. He fell back in the tall grass and blinked up at the night sky, "...Shit".


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Hey angels! I'm updating this fic first because it seems to be the one that everyone wanted to update the most, and in my effort to put quality over quantity I'm taking my time to update so I really hope you enjoy this!

-Bae

 **Chapter 16:**

"...The wound on his shoulder was deep. More than likely hit the bone. I patched him up as best I could, but I have feeling that there's another underlying problem there that needs treating. His eye is bloodshot but there's nothing else in the surrounding area to suggest he was struck, which leads me to believe¬"

"His heart.", Michonne ejected quietly, "He knows. _We_ know."

Herschel's eyes roamed her face as he began to nod, "...I take it that's stress induced?"

"Stress... from anger", She almost shrugged, "Anger is most definitely the cause"

"I have no problem believing that…", Herschel smirked, "...He's gonna' have to take it easy for a while, but other than that, all the other damage is just on the surface. A lot of bruising that'll probably clear up before you know it"

Michonne gave him the world's smallest smile, "Thank you, Herschel."

"It's no problem at all", He reached out and took her shoulder in his hand, "I'll do whatever I can to help, even if he's reluctant to accept it."

Michonne avoided her husband's cell for a little while when she found out he was awake. She knew that she had to face him sooner than later. She felt safer around him when he was unconscious. There were no arguments when she cleaned the blood from his skin. He couldn't growl or yell when she taped up his hands. She could take care of him in peace and quiet, and reflect on everything that had gotten to them to this point. Even after all the hardship, she was grateful that he was still alive and almost well. Her world would shatter if that wasn't the case.

She wished that she had kissed him. Just a little peck on his busted lip as a reminder that she still loved him.

But he already had it out with Shane and she was next on his list. She knew there was a risk that her daughter would spill the beans but she didn't expect her to run to him so soon after his return. It really made no difference in her mind. If there was bad news to be told about Shane, then it didn't matter how Rick found out; the reaction would be the same. There was too much-unfinished business between them for him to react any other way.

"They patched the gate up as best as they could and parked the RV in front of it", Andre caught up with her before she could make it to Rick's cell. The blonde wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as she stood in front of Michonne, "We had a few wanderers but nothing we couldn't handle"

Michonne noticed the blood splattered on her clothes, "Will it hold?"

"It looks like it will for tonight", Andre's eyes drifted passed her as she lowered her voice, "Is he awake?"

"...I think so", Michonne almost glanced back over her shoulder but stopped herself.

Andrea shifted her stance, "...You have any idea what it was about?"

Michonne wanted to groan. She answered briefly and quietly, "...He wanted to leave and go someplace else... And he suggested that I go with him."

Her best friends face fell blank as she tilted her head to one side, " _Excuse me_?"

"Yeah."

Andrea's expression balanced between confused and annoyed, "He asked you to leave¬"

"With him. Me and the kids… and leave Rick here", Michonne folded her arms across her chest, "He was out of it"

"You can say that again", Andrea scoffed, "So hold on a minute, when did _that_ start?"

Michonne frowned, "When did _what_ start?"

"You and him", Her friend stated a little firmly, "Did I miss something?"

Michonne was taken back. Her frown intensified, "There was no such thing as 'He and I', Andrea¬"

"I'm not saying that", The blonde held up her hand to stop her, "But I mean¬ I've never even seen you guys talk! Were you close to him? Close enough for him to think that¬"

"No", Michonne tried not to hiss her words, "He wasn't thinking¬ He just wanted to get out of here and away from everyone, and I think he didn't want to do it alone. That's it."

Andrea appeared skeptical, as though she didn't believe her answer, "...And he asked you? _You_? My best friend, and the wife of the man who he¬"

"Yes, Andrea. It wasn't a well thought out plan and I think he realized that.", Michonne sighed as she watched Sasha and Tyrese trudge inside the cell block, "And why are you saying it like that? Would you have wanted him to ask you instead?"

The blonde snorted, "God no, but I would think he'd ask anyone else but you. Maybe even Dale¬ I've seen them talk more than anyone else in here. _That_ would make more sense."

Michonne shrugged one of her shoulders, "Well it was a stupid move and he probably paid for it"

"Well, obviously not. He got out of her alive.", Andrea shook her head as she started to talk away, "I think this might be the first time that I actually agree with something Rick's done."

Michonne didn't move. It dawned on her that Shane really did manage to escape her husband's clutches and knowing that he was out there made her feel uneasy. She wanted to think that he wouldn't come back to the prison but she couldn't rule it out completely. He was out there on his own, and the chances of him going insane with grief were high. He had nothing to lose. She finally looked back towards the cells and saw that Carl was stood by his father's door. She plucked up the courage to go in there.

He peered at her closely when she joined him, "Andre's still sleeping. I just checked on him."

"Thank you", Michonne leaned on the other side of the door as she looked at the rest of her family; Rick was perched on the edge of his bunk topless, with a bandage wrapped around his shoulder and going around his chest. He didn't look up at her when he heard her voice. Judith was on the other side of him, as expected.

"Come on, Judes", Carl called as he pushed off the bars, "You need to get some sleep."

Judith gave her brother a defiant look, but it quickly disappeared when she saw that her mother watching her. She stood up, "Night, daddy."

"...Goodnight, honey", Rick croaked out as he watched her walk past him.

"...Night, Mama", Judith issued quietly as she snuck past her.

"Night.", Michonne watched both of her kids until they were out of earshot, then stepped inside the cell, but stayed by the wall furthest away from him.

Rick sniffed as he finally looked up at her, revealing his one red eye,"...Judith came and told me what she heard..."

Michonne averted her gaze and chose to inspect the ground with her eyes as she listened, her lips pressed firmly together.

"So I went out there and I talked to him...He told me that you're not happy and that he wanted to offer you a way out of here… Away from me", Rick stared at her, "He said you didn't shoot him down"

Her forehead creased, and her voice was barely above a whisper, "He wasn't thinking straight."

Rick took note of her answer, "...So that made it alright?"

She shrugged, "People don't always see things clearly after they've lost someone. He only just buried his daughter"

"You think that was the only reason?"

Michonne let her gaze wander towards him, "...No, but I think was the main reason."

Rick stared at her, "...Did you care about him?"

His question annoyed her, "Don't ask me anything like that again."

She let her gaze meet his and he looked her dead in the eye when said, "He tried to talk to me about you. Like the two of you had somethan' special. Like he understood you and I didn't, so I'm tryin' to figure out why¬"

"That wasn't the case", She sighed, "Most of it was in his mind."

She was beginning to hate the way he looked at her, "Was the part about him thinking that you weren't happy in his mind too?"

Michonne crossed her arms over her chest as she rolled her gaze away from him, "It was an assumption"

"And was he right?"

She didn't want to go down that route with him just yet. The air between them was tense enough. She chose to say instead, "It doesn't matter anymore. He's gone."

"...He wasn't just the problem though, was he?", He began to frown as he stood up, "We have a problem here, between you and I"

She wanted to sigh again, "...You could say that again"

"I could say that again?", He repeated her words.

"Yes, Rick."

He stared at her with a dark look, "Thangs haven't been easy between us for a while and I've noticed that... but I never once at any point thought that it meant that we were in trouble. Or that someone like Shane would think that he could step in? And what's worse is you seem pretty relaxed about this whole thang¬"

"Because I'm sick and tired of arguing with you", She snapped, "If you want to talk to me then fine, we'll talk, but the moment you start being aggressive; I'm leaving."

He stepped closer to her, " _Aggressive_?"

"Yes.", She held her hand up in warning to stop him coming any closer, "So calm down."

He was more offended by the gesture than her words. His wild blue eyes darted to the hand she held up then back up to her face. His chest grew as he inhaled deeply, "...I'm not trying to argue. I'm trying to get answers¬"

"And I'm answering you. You asked about Shane and I told you. You said that we have a problem here and I agreed, but you've got a one-track mind when you're mad so my answers aren't good enough. _Nothing_ is good enough for you when your like this and I'm running out of patience so I'm not playing this game with you", She quickly became overwhelmed with emotion, "Somewhere along the line things got difficult, and I expected that and I know you did too, but then you just decided that you were going to start handling things on your own and that's the part that I don't understand"

Her husband began to shake his head, "You know why¬"

"I know exactly why and that's what doesn't make sense to me. Not the cause. The _reason_."

It was clear to Michonne that he wasn't understanding her. Frustration was driving him to move around unnecessarily, "...I wanted to protect my family. It's as simple as that."

"You haven't even mentioned your mother since she died, Rick", She knew that she really caught his attention when she saw him freeze, "You decided that you were going to handle that on your own and I don't think that was fair. Not just on me but on the kids, too."

He took a small step back as he kept his gaze away from her, "...That's somethan' that I'd rather deal with on my own. I'm allowed to, Michonne¬"

"But I wasn't?", She almost scoffed, "One rule for yourself and another for me, right? You're allowed to push me away one minute then expect me to be at your side the next, while I have to kick and scream to get any space from you¬"

"I never pushed you away", He gave her a mean frown as he looked back at her, "I asked you to¬"

"You told me to leave you on the highway. You told me to stay out of your way", She clenched her fists at her side, "The only question you ever sent my way was when you had the damn nerve to ask where I slept!"

His expression was beginning to soften.

She unclenched her firsts in an effort to control herself. She was the one that said she didn't want to argue but the conversation was racing in that direction. Rick had started to fidget; rubbing his fingers and thumbs together as his glazed eyes hovered on her face. He was anxious, "I wasn't trying to hurt you in all of that¬"

"I know", She paused when she noticed her last breath was jagged, "...I think that in the heat of your one-man mission to protect everybody and everything, you stopped caring about who you hurt along the way. Whether it was me or anyone else trying to stop you or talk to you… all you saw were obstacles."

His cold blue eyes sailed away from her and silence swept through the cell. If he had disagreed with her then he would have shot something back already, but he didn't. He looked all around the room as though he was trying to gather his wits, "...I wasn't trying to make you feel like that. I wasn't trying to and I wouldn't want to…"

"...I believe you", She saw him struggling to keep a steady breath too.

"...If anythan' were to happen to you then I think that would be it for me…", He confessed in a whisper.

A weak breath left her lips before she snapped them shut.

"...Everythan' I know begins and ends with you and the kids...and my mother, too", He sat back down on the bunk with a thud, "...I wanna' talk about her, I do, but... it comes in waves. One minute I think I can… I wanna' mention without getting choked up... but then all of a sudden it feels like I'm drowning...every single time"

Michonne couldn't remain rigid. The soft spot she had for him came alive with a sudden pulse.

"She was scared of those thangs¬ I know she was, but she forgot all about that to save Andre. She didn't have anythan'; no gun or a¬ or even a knife…Nothing… but that didn't stop her. She'd put herself in harm's way to protect them…", His chest caved as he lowered his head, "And I should have done somethan' first so she didn't have to make that decision… she'd still be here with us if I did…"

Michonne's shoulders slumped as she gawked at him with teary eyes.

"Losing her was all I can take... I can't risk losing any of you. I _can't_.", His hands trembled as he raked his fingers through his damp hair, "I wasn't trying to hurt you or the kids...I wasn't trying to make you unhappy¬ I just wanna' keep you all safe. I need to keep my family safe…"

She looked up to the ceiling for a second or two as she tried to compose herself, "You're going to have to trust me, Rick... I trust you, even after all this; I still trust you and I'm still with you"

"...I trust you. I do.", He insisted in a weak, heart-rendering voice, "And I mean that."

Michonne couldn't stand to stay away from him much longer. She already knew that he was carrying plenty of pent-up emotion but seeing him hunched over on his bunk with his head in his hands crushed her. He had finally spoken about his sorrow and it sucked the life out of him. She took the smallest steps forward until she was directly in front of him. She reached out her hand and let it slide down the side of his head.

Rick put his hand over hers and let his cheek rest in her palm, "I'm sorry"

She stepped a little closer and let his head rest against her stomach. He held onto her tight, as though he was scared she's slip away from him while she cradled his head and felt his tears seep through her shirt. She announced quietly, "...Your mother was sick. She told me."

His hold on her relaxed as he listened to her.

"...She thought her days were numbered… and she was okay with that. She said she wanted to see your dad again and I asked her to tell you and she promised that she would. I wanted to tell you about it sooner but you never even gave me a chance to be there for you like you've always been for me...", Michonne wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, then returned it to his neck, "I'm right here, Rick"

His arms tightened around her again and her heart broke for him.

In spite of how ruthless her husband had grown to be, he wasn't as indestructible as he wanted others to believe and he couldn't continue to excuse himself from feeling hurt. She felt duty bound to help and support him, not just for the sake of their children and everyone else around them, but because he was hers to take care of. She felt the exact same obligation that he felt, and she needed to protect him too but mostly from himself. His mother's last words to her were starting to make even more sense.

She wanted to say more but the chance was stolen from her. The moment they heard the alarm, they knew there was trouble. It was a sharp sound that made them wince, but what made it worse was that it was loud. Too loud. There were still parts of the building that they hadn't explored yet and there was a chance that the gate wouldn't hold up against any more visitors, so everyone sprung into action.

Rick ran to the control room with Tyrese and Andrea while Michonne did a quick headcount; She heard Andre before she saw him, wailing in Judith's arms as she stood at the staircase. Lilly quickly joined her side while Carl hurried down the steps. Herschel ushered Patricia into a cell with Beth and his grandchildren, and Maggie did the same with Carol and Sophia. Getting them out the way and somewhere safe was a priority.

Michonne realized that they couldn't find what they were looking for when she heard her husband yelling. She retrieved her sword and was about to tell Carl to stay with Judith and Andre when the teen aimed his gun at the speakerphone high up on the wall. His aim was impeccable and he managed to break it with only two shots, but the alarm still rang out from elsewhere. He spun around and aimed for another one on the wall furthest from them when Rick and the others poured back into the cell block.

"What the hell is that?!", Andrea squawked from behind Michonne.

"We need to get to find the other control room!", Rick ignored her as she hurried past them, "Maybe the basement!"

"Stay here", Michonne told Carl, "You're in charge, okay?"

Carl nodded his head as he fired a shot, "Got it!"

The hallway leading towards the rest of the prison was dimly lit by red flashing lights. Even with their own flashlights, they still couldn't see that far in front of them. Michonne realized that she'd have to watch her step when she almost stepped on a body. She stayed close to the group but kept looking back in case something crept up on them in the dark, and it was a good thing that she did because she saw a shadow moving sluggishly in the red glare. The group was moving quickly enough to put some space between them but they would have to deal with it on the way back.

The alarm was starting to grate on her. She tried to block it out but it was impossible. Whatever was laying dormant in the tombs had woken up and by the time they made it to the basement they were fending off more than just a few shadows.

"Look near generators!", Tyrese barked as he helped to fight off the dead inmates, "It might be a small box on the wall!"

"Look on the left side!", Daryl added for good measure as he used a crowbar as a weapon, "I think I saw somethan' like that earlier!"

"We're on it!", Sasha yelled back as she and Glenn started looking around frantically, "Is it labeled?!"

"I don't know I don't work here!", Tyrese yelled back as he swung his machete into an equally large man's skull, "Switch it off then disarm it¬ it might be scheduled to go off again!"

Michonne kicked a corpse away from her and sliced through the head of another. She stabbed the one on the floor before it could get up and then scanned the large room. It smelt of damp cement and old pipes but had better lighting than the hall. She blew out a tired breath when she saw Rick put down the last corpse, while Andrea tried to shut the heavy metal door but a body was in the way.

"Done it…", The alarm stopped midway through a ring and Glenn sighed out of relief as he pushed his hair back and away from his face, "Now how do you reset this thing?"

Tyrese started stepping over bodies to get to his sister, "I'll do it. It's probably like the one at my old department"

As tension died down in the room, Michonne locked eyes with Rick and felt like sighing too. It was a testing time for all of them but she was certain that she could see a light at the end of the tunnel. They'd made an unspoken agreement with each other and the future didn't look so bleak anymore. She was glad.

Their moment was interrupted again when they heard a gunshot. It was faint, but it was clear that someone had fired a gun. They all heard it. The first shot struck Michonne with terror and the second shot made her blood curdle. She moved out of fear and raced across the bodies to get to the cell block and more importantly to her children.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17:**

Rick felt his heartbeat in his throat when he heard those first few shots. Anxiety fueled him to run through the tombs blindly. He knew his wife felt the same because she flew out of the basement like a bat out of hell, so keeping up with her only heightened his panic.

The fact that the gunshots weren't stopping only made matters worse. Even though Maggie, Hershel and Dale were there, and he believed that they were capable of fighting back against the dead, he was banking on Carl to act. He knew his son had it in him to take control when necessary, so anyone could imagine his relief when he discovered that he was right.

His son was front and center, with a pistol in hand, not allowing anything to pass the firing line. Corpses fell by the entrance to the cell block. He made every headshot. Maggie and Hershel were on either side of him and picked up the attack when he had to reload, but Carl was quickly back in action. By the time the last infected man joined the pile of bodies, the doorway was almost completely blocked. The rest of the group had stayed out of harm's way on the second floor but still brandished makeshift weapons, and for the first time in a long time, Rick realized that he really didn't have to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was surrounded by people that were just as willing as him to protect each other.

Carl looked just as relieved as everyone else when he finally lowered his gun, and before he could bask in any praise from the rest of the group, he had to endure an extensive inspection from his mother. Michonne might as well have picked him up by the scruff of his neck and carried him out of harm's way; like a lioness would do with their cubs. Rick left her to it. He knew he wouldn't be able to pry him for her so he would have to wait to praise Carl for his efforts.

He still had to make sure they were no more surprises around the corner, and that the building was truly secure. The alarm would have been loud enough to be heard from outside and they still had a gaping hole in the fence, so he couldn't relax just yet.

They checked the other entrance to the tombs and locked the door before beginning to move the bodies. There was still so much of the prison to explore, and Rick would have insisted that they continued their search but the night had come to an end. The sun was only a few hours away from making an appearance and no one had gotten any rest, so as soon as they finished dumping the bodies in the yard, the others retired to their cells, but Rick took it upon himself to clean the bloodstained floor. The idea of sleeping didn't appeal to him.

Shane was still on his mind. He had gotten away in a bad state, and a part of him wanted to believe that he'd just drop dead somewhere, but the other part of him knew that chances were slim. Shane was capable of surviving and that meant that he was capable of returning. Whether he actually would return was questionable, but Rick didn't even want him to have the option. He loathed him too much to ever give him the benefit of the doubt.

Above everything else, he hated that Shane knew that Michonne was unhappy before he did.

The sad truth was; he was having a tougher time dealing with his mother's death than he'd realized. It had been eating him up inside, but being able to talk to Michonne about it did help. He felt better for it, and if he was beginning to think that if he'd done that in the first place then maybe Shane would have stayed in his place and his wife wouldn't have felt the way she did.

"What are you doing¬"

"Jesus Christ, Carl", Rick almost jumped out of his skin when he heard his son's voice. He was so deep in thought that he didn't even hear the teen approach him from behind. He looked up at his son from his crouched position, "What are you doing up?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing", Carl was frowning at him as he stepped closer, "You couldn't leave that until later?"

Rick wiped his brow with the back of his hand. The bleach fumes were finally getting to him, "I thought I'd do it now…"

His son shoved his hands in his sweatpants pocket, "Why?"

"I couldn't sleep. I needed somethan' to do", Rick looked up at him again, "Is that alright with you?"

Carl's bright blue eyes searched his face for the real reason he was up, "...Did you talk to mom?"

Rick stared at his son for several silent seconds before he spoke up, "You know that you don't need to worry about your mother and I¬"

"But I do", Carl deadpanned seriously.

Rick didn't have the strength to argue with him. His son was blossoming into a strong-willed man, so there was nothing he could say to change his mind. He smirked at him instead, "Fine"

Carl crouched down until he was able to set one knee on the floor like his father, "So?"

"...I think you're old enough to understand that some thangs take work", He looked back down at the stained floor again as he prepared to start cleaning again, "And this is one of those thangs"

"...Right", Carl wasn't as easy to read as his other children, "...Judith told me what Shane said"

Rick inhaled deeply, "Yeah?"

"Yeah… Were you trying to kill him?"

"Yeah.", The reply was an easy one for Rick, "I was"

Carl's gaze crept up to the side of his father's face, "...Is that going to be our answer to everything now?"

Rick dropped the soiled cloth on the floor and looked at his son, "You got somethan' on your mind. I know you have, so say it"

Carl sat back on the ground as though he was getting comfortable, "...I don't feel good about killing people over things that aren't worthy of death… I mean, I _don't like_ Shane for what he said but… Mom wouldn't even listen to him… and I don't think that's right to just kill everyone that we don't like."

"You're not the one doing the killing¬"

"But you are. You're my dad and you're kind of like the leader here so…", Carl gave him a one-sided shrug, "What you do matters. How you handle things matters…"

Rick ran his tongue along his teeth as he thought about that, "You're right, but thangs are different now and you've seen that for yourself"

"I know. But maybe it might not always be like this? Have you thought about what it might be like a couple months from now? Or even a year?", Carl tipped his head to one side as he looked at him, "I don't want us to be too far gone that we don't know the difference between right and wrong"

It was a profound point. Rick had thought about how things would be in the future, but his focus was on making his family survive long enough to see it, and not the type of people they'd be if they made it far. He didn't even consider what kind of person he would be after doing everything he could to get them there.

His son had given him food for thought and he found himself admiring everything about Carl for a second time that night, and it was another bittersweet moment. He knew his son was becoming a man but the truth was hitting home harder than usual. He spoke tenderly when he declared, "I love you, you know that right?"

Carl's dark brows furrowed as he said, "Yeah?"

"I mean it. And I'm proud of you", He reached out and took hold of the teen's shoulder, "I wanted to say it earlier but I didn't want to get between you and your mother. You protected this whole group on your own."

Carl shrugged nonchalantly as he lowered his gaze, "Maggie and Hershel helped"

"I know, but you took charge and to do what you did takes courage", Rick insisted a little firmly, "I really am proud of you. And I think you'd make a great leader yourself one day"

Carl's dark brows furrowed again, "Why? Where will you be?"

"I'd be right behind you", He gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, "Never forget that."

Carl sat with him for a while longer before insisting that they both retired to their cells, and exhaustion was finally catching up on Rick so he followed his sons lead and went to his empty cell. Michonne had taken Andre up to the floor above, and he was tempted to join them but it wouldn't feel right doing so. He hadn't forgotten about the things she said and he wanted to take a different approach to mending their problems, so he left her alone.

By the time he woke up, sunlight was pouring through the windows and he could hear softly spoken conversations outside his cell. He lazily lifted his arm to see his wristwatch and realized it had stopped sometime in the night.

As if like clockwork, he heard little feet pattering towards his cell before he saw his son. Andre came around the corner like a speeding train and began to giggle when he saw his father was awake. Rick held his arms out, "What are you up to?"

Andre tried to climb up onto the bunk bud needed help from his father, "Shhh! We have to hide!"

"From who?", Andre almost knocked the air out of Rick's lungs when he climbed over him and snuggled up in the small space between him and the wall.

"Mommy!", He hissed excitedly.

"Oh", Rick looked towards the doorway just in time to see Michonne step into the room. He offered weekly, "Andre's not in here"

She raised an eyebrow at him as she strolled forward, "I don't believe you. I'm sure I saw a curly haired boy run this way…"

Andre began to giggle from his not so discreet hiding spot and Rick snickered at him, "You've given yourself up"

"There he is!", Michonne reached over Rick and plucked Andre from the bed, "I found you!"

"No! Daddy, help!", Andre squealed when she pretended to eat his neck, "Stop! I'm not food!"

"Looks like you are", Rick grinned at them both as he sat up on the bunk. A shooting pain in his shoulder and ribs reminded him of the previous night's events, so he gingerly repositioned himself.

"...You should lay down", Michonne suggest as she set Andre on her hip, "You're still injured"

"I'm alright", He insisted as he rubbed his eye, "How are you doing?"

"Fine", No sooner had she gotten a hold of Andre did he start to wiggle free, so she let him slide his way down to the floor.

"Is everyone up?"

"Mostly everyone.", She watched Andre start his exploration of the cell, "They're serving breakfast"

Rick slowly nodded as he also watched Andre, "Alright."

In spite of their breakthrough the night before, the air between them was different. There was still a little tension there, but not fueled by anger. She leaned against the metal desk as she said, "...I was thinking about looking for a town around here.."

He looked up at her, "A town?"

"Yeah. I don't think we have anything around here to mend that fence", She started to gaze at the setting around them, "And these cells are bare. I think everyone's running out of clothes… We need a lot of stuff."

She was right. They had the essentials, but not much else, and if they were planning on staying at the prison for a while then they needed more. He agreed with her, "There's probably a map around here somewhere. Maybe up in the control room."

"I'll look", She brought her gaze down to the cement floor, "You should stay here."

Rick had a feeling she'd say that. He gently shook his head, "...If you're gonna' be out there then I'd prefer to be out there with you."

"I won't be alone, Rick."

"I know, but…", He kept his voice soft, "I want to be with you"

He saw her chest rise and fall a fraction slower than before. Thankfully she didn't look annoyed, and replied in an equally soft tone, "Fine."

"No pants!", Andre cheered as he proudly displayed the blue and white striped pants that he no longer wore.

Both of his parents sniggered at him. Rick held out his hand, "Why don't I hold on to those before you lose them?"

Andre quickly held the pants to his chest and shook his head so vigorously that his walnut brown curls were a blur.

Rick let his hand fall down, "Nevermind."

His conversations with his wife and son were still prominent in his mind that morning. He had a lot to consider, and one of those things was his place in the group. Being a 'leader' wasn't something he set out to be, but his desire to protect the people that he cared about came with that label, and he had to revise what that meant. With a strong group behind him that were capable of surviving, he had to make sure that they did just that; survive.

Michonne was the one to round up a few people over breakfast and tell them about her plan. Rick stayed out of it until she came for him. He knew that he could be intense at times, especially when it came to her, so he wanted to keep things neutral in order to communicate properly. If that meant shutting up and staying out of her way, then he'd do it.

A small group of them had met up in the yard before noon and were milling around by three vehicles while waiting for Sasha and Dale to move the RV away from the gate. Rick waited by the open door of his truck and looked beyond the gate and into the trees. Shane was still another thing on his mind.

"You all set?", Maggie crept up behind him.

He peaked back at her from over his shoulder and replied roughly, "Yeah… You?"

"Yeah", She planted herself beside him and set her hands at her sides. She was looking considerably better, though there was no doubt that she and Glenn still carried the loss of their daughter on their shoulders, "...What happened last night?"

Rick peaked at her again, "...I got into it with Shane."

If there was anyone who truly understood his history with Shane, it was Maggie. She was around to witness a lot of their dealings in the past, so her response made sense, "It was a long time coming."

Rick continued to stare past the fence, then realized that there was something that he'd been meaning to say to her for a long time, "...I'm sorry about Ally. I really am… And I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to say that"

Maggie's vibrant green gaze fell on the grass, "Thank you. It means a lot."

"Let's head out!", Daryl barked from the vehicle behind, and he slammed his car door. Maggie flashed him a small smile as she turned back around and went to find a vehicle to climb in.

Rick got himself ready in the front seat as he waited for Michonne to join him, and it took a few minutes but she eventually arrived with a backpack in hand and they were finally able to leave.

"...It's a simple route. We just keep heading north…", She explained quietly as she studied the map once more. "If we don't find anything there then there's another place on the other side. A few miles north again"

"That's fine with me", He felt her look in his direction, so he glanced at her, "Alright?"

Michonne gently sighed as she began folding up the map, "...You're being a lot more complacent than usual"

Rick shifted a little in his seat, "...You said that like it was a bad thang?"

"You're going from one extreme to the other", She pointed out quietly, "You don't need to do that"

He comments confused him so much that he was at a lost for words.

"...I was hoping that you'd just start to talk more now. Not just to me but to everyone…", She was eyeing the side of his face as she spoke, "I was hoping that you'd realize that you're apart of something… not just a group, but a family"

"I have realized that, Michonne. I'm just…", He glanced at her again as he tried to explain himself, "I'm here. It might not seem like it but I am. I promise."

She didn't look too convinced, but she sat back and accepted his answer regardless, "Alright"

Trying to get back to familiar ground would be harder than he thought.

They didn't speak much during their drive but their journey wasn't the long, and they reached the abandoned town sooner than any of them anticipated. There wasn't much dead around but there were plenty of signs that they'd been there; old blood stains covered car windows, doors, and the floor. Carcasses were picked dry and limbs laid far from the bodies. It was a gruesome sight, but they were getting used to it.

"Should we split up?", Glenn asked when the group came together in the middle of the town.

"Might be a good idea", Rick kept his eye on one particular dead man that was hurrying to get to them. He pulled his hatchet free in preparation, "I think we'd have a lot more visitors out here if it wasn't safe. We made enough noise driving in here"

"We need to get to the hardware store", Tyrese declared as he used his thumb to point behind him, "It was back down there; we've got the pickup truck so we can park outside and start loading up"

"We need medicine", Maggie added while she shielded her eyes from the sun, "Me and Glenn can check out those stores over there."

"Alright, let's do this", Daryl pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket as he broke away from the group.

Tyrese eyed him suspiciously, "Does my sister know that you're smoking again?"

"No, so don't tell her", Daryl rasped roughly.

"I'm telling her", Tyrese retorted playfully as he followed behind his brother in law, "I'm telling her _as soon as_ I see her"

Glenn and Maggie went away in another direction, leaving Rick and Michonne to tackle the stores closest to them. Michonne got to the dead man before Rick and swung her katana effortlessly through his head. She'd been getting better and better with the weapon.

Rick picked the general store first. The shelves weren't completely bare and they had to get as much as they could. They did a quick sweep of the store, making sure there wasn't anything lurking in the back and they knew where any other exits were before they got started.

"I saw some boxes near the counter", Michonne sheathed her katana as she made her observation, "I'll get them"

He was about to say ' _ok_ ', but instead he said, "Wait"

She looked in his direction as he she pulled her backpack off, "What is it?"

Words wouldn't be enough. It would be the first time that the two of them had been alone together in weeks. Well, not within ten feet of one of the other members of the group, or their children, at the very least. He stepped closer to her he confessed, "I love you"

Michonne looked a taken aback at first, but she did reciprocate by placing her hand on his jaw and replying, "I love you, too"

He loved nothing more than feeling her palm against his cheek. He felt so soothed when she brushed her thumb over his cheekbone that turned his head and kissed her hand, then her wrist. He tugged her closer until he didn't have to go far to kiss her lips, and when he finally did, it made his heart flutter with delight. He missed her even more than he knew.

It had been too long since they were intimate that he forgot how wonderful it felt to really hold her and kiss her. He missed the way her lips felt on his and feeling her fingers comb through his hair until she reached the curls at his nape. He melted into her just as much she melted against him, and when he could no longer stand it, he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the back of the store. They weren't completely alone, after all. He took her behind the counter and kneeled his way down to the ground. Luckily for him, all the blood in his body was heading to one specific organ, so he didn't recognize the pain he was in as he moved.

When they were out of sight, he could feel that she was a little reluctant to lay her head down on the dusty wooden floor, and it didn't take long for him to figure out why. He broke the kiss to sit up, pulled his t-shirt off then dropped it on the floor behind her. It didn't matter what kind of state the world was in; she'd never willingly get dirt in her hair.

They resumed their passionate embrace. Her hands trailed up and down his torso while he pulled her thigh against his hip. He hated how much material there was between them; he wanted to feel her naked skin and caress her the way she was caressing him. He unbuttoned her pants with one hand, then sat up again to pull them off, along with her boots. She arched her back to tug off her shirt off and unfasten her bra. He watched her undress as he yanked his belt off. She spread her legs when she was ready for him to dive in, and he did just that once his throbbing shaft was free.

She moaned when his fingers stroked her slit. Three of his digits rubbed her up and down, teasing her swollen bud. The heat that radiated from between her soft and wet curls was so alluring that he wanted to clamp his mouth on her, but when she moved his hand away from her crutch he knew that she was past that stage. She wanted more and he was prepared to give it to her.

Their lips locked together when he eased himself inside of her. She still moaned, while Rick released a low, guttural groan. The deeper his tip sank, the further back his eyes rolled. He leaned on his forearms above her and watched her squirm when he started to retreat from her warmth. He slid back inside her slowly, and the second time around felt even more euphoric. When he was sure that every inch of him was completely coated in her juices, he started to thrust at a nice, even pace.

"Ah, Rick!", She whispered breathlessly as she set her feet on his thighs.

"I missed this", His lips were almost pressed against hers, "I miss _fucking_ you like this"

The grip she had on his shoulder tightened, "Don't stop"

Her command almost made his knees buckle. They had always shared a passion for raw, Ferrel sex, and her words could easily reignite that spark. The pace was no longer working for him anymore. He wanted to relive a time where he could make her whole body tremor, so he reached for the back of her calf and pinned one of her legs back further. The position granted him deeper access, and it drove him wild. Michonne clung to him with her nails. She bobbed up and down every time he slammed into her and her cries were never-ending. He wouldn't dare stop if he could help it.

There had been too much distance between them and he wanted to put an end to it. He needed to be so close to her that there was no telling where he began and she ended. She was the love of his life, and as far as he was concerned, there was nothing better walking the earth than her.

He wasn't expecting to mend everything with sex, but the sense of togetherness helped.

He knew he was doing the right things to her when her walls started to pulse sporadically. At the rate he was going, he wasn't going to last much longer either, so he kept up the assault on her core with her end in mind. His length was throbbing with anticipation, and every thrust felt like it was going to be the last, but he didn't stop.

"Ah! Fuck!", She whimpered when she climaxed. Her breath tickled his lips and her eyes were pinched shut. He could feel her leg trembling in his hand while his member was lost in her gulping heat. It was as if she were trying to milk him.

Rick made those last few thrusts quick and hard until his release caught him by the throat. The intensity in his groin finally made him buckle, and by the time he'd finished pumping out his pent up load, he was also a trembling mess.

Michonne panted in his ear and held onto him like he hadn't stopped, while his head fit perfectly in the crook of her neck. Neither of them said anything, but it didn't seem like much needed to be said. He felt good about their sex, and he hoped that she did, too. He definitely didn't feel any tension anymore.

They didn't get to lay there for as long as he would have liked, and they got dressed in a silent hurry. He waited until Michonne was done before he started collecting items for their haul, and then delayed their task for a moment more so that he could steal one more kiss from her.

The products were all cheap knockoffs of well-known brands but they couldn't afford to be fussy, so they set off to take everything they could. Rick did take one of the discarded boxes from beside the counter for his collection, which was made up of mostly old candy, chips, canned food, instant noodles and even condiments. When he cleared one side of the aisle, he turned and started on the other.

He could hear Michonne moving around, even though she made even less noise than him. She sneezed a few times because of the dust in the air from moving items around, and he said ' _bless you_ ' every time.

When he'd finished clearing the entire aisle, he ventured into the other one to tell her that he was going to start loading up the car, but when he noticed her crouching down beside her box, he froze. Whatever she was doing, she believed she was doing in secrecy, but Rick saw the pregnancy test go in her backpack, and not in the box with the rest of the stuff.

It wouldn't have been an outrageous thing to do, because they'd only just had sex a short while ago, but when she continued to put the other texts in the box, it raised his suspicions. He retained a lot of information from the period of their lives when they tried to have another baby after Judith was born, and there was a waiting game to play before she could take a pregnancy test, so it made little sense to him as to why she'd need one so soon.

He backed away as he wondered if she thought she was already pregnant, from an earlier encounter. That would make more sense, but It was a sensitive topic for them, so he could understand why she'd want to be quiet about it, but then a horrible thought crossed his mind; maybe she was hiding her inklings for other reasons. He still wasn't completely sure what happened between Shane and his wife. In fact, he knew nothing at all, and that fueled his mind to fear the worst.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** Hey! So I was meant to update Back to the Fields or Before the Reign, but I tend to work from different computers and I have all these hard drives so... I have no clue where those updates are! (My life is just a mess. Just one big mess). So I thought I may as well neaten this one up and post it. Hope you enjoy!

\- Bae

 **Chapter 18:**

"Wow… so you really just grabbed what you could, huh?"

Michonne shot her best friend a mean side eye, "Stop it."

"I'm just saying…", Andrea held up a frilly, pink blouse, "You wouldn't be caught dead in this. I wouldn't let you be caught dead in this, so I'd like to think that you'd show me the same amount of care"

Michonne reluctantly sniggered at the blond, "Look, there were only two clothing stores in town so we really had to just grab what we could"

"...You know who would wear this?", Andrea leaned closer to her as whispered, " _Carol_ would wear this."

"Stop it", Michonne scolded her, "Be nice. I purposely picked up some simple shirts for you because I knew you'd have an attitude¬"

"I do not have an attitude! Look, I'm grateful, okay?", Andrea held the shirt against her chest, "See? I love the way this shade of pink just washes out my pale skin; it's amazing"

Michonne picked up a pair of cargo pants from the pile of clothes and threw them at her friend, "You are a pain!"

"Oh!", Andrea began to chuckle as she caught the pants, "Pair this with this? And we've got ourselves a walker repellent. They wouldn't even touch me."

It was a funny joke, and Michonne found herself chuckling too, "God, I hate you"

"If you think I'm the only one that's going to complain about this then you are wrong. My darling niece was a little fashionista before the world went to shit"

"She'll have to deal with this, too", Michonne didn't think she had the patience for any of her daughter's future tantrums. She reached into the clothing pile and pulled out an extra large t-shirt with a fish painted on the front, "I think we should put this aside for Dale…"

Andrea raised an eyebrow at her, "...Speaking of old men…How's it going with that husband of yours?"

Michonne gave her another mean look, "You could have said that without the first part"

"But I didn't.", Andrea tilted her head at her, "So? Everything good in the asylum?"

Michonne glanced around the cell block before she spoke; Beth, Carol, and Patricia were setting out their haul on the other tables so that members of the group could help themselves to the things they needed. Even though they weren't in earshot, she still lowered her voice, "...I picked up a pregnancy test…"

Andrea's jaw hung in shock, "Seriously?"

Michonne nodded, "I don't think that I am… I think it's just stress, but I wanted to be sure"

"Okay, but what if it's not down to stress?", Andrea rested her hands on the steel table, "What do we do then?"

Michonne's stomach started to turn at the thought that she could be pregnant, "...Then we find a way to deal with that"

Andrea narrowed her eyes at her, "You mean¬"

"Yes…", Michonne pretended to really observe at a shirt, "...There was a pharmacy in town. I don't know if Glenn and Maggie cleared it out but… I think I could probably find something in there"

Andrea picked up some denim cutoffs and mimicked her, "And you seriously believe that Rick would gladly take you back into town to get some abortion pills?"

It was a blunt remark that Michonne didn't receive too well, "I'd prefer to do that then have to bury another child"

Andrea's glowing green eyes quickly found her face, "I didn't mean it like that, Michonne"

She glanced in her direction, "...I know"

Andrea stopped what she was doing and looked towards the others, then looked back at her friend, "Where is he?"

Michonne shrugged, "I think he's outside helping the others with the fence"

"Then let's go check now", Andrea insisted in a whisper, "I'll be the lookout"

Michonne surveyed the hall as she thought about it; she hadn't planned on taking the test until later that night when everyone was asleep, but with Andrea's help, she could do it quickly and safely. As far as she was aware, all of the kids were enjoying some fresh air outside with the adults that were fixing the fence, so it would be the perfect opportunity for her to go unnoticed. She had to agree, "Fine. Let's go"

In spite of the nature of their conversation, Michonne was sure that she wasn't pregnant. She knew her body well enough to know that something wasn't quite right and she wanted to rule out pregnancy first. She suspected that she was feeling the way she did because of stress, and with all things considered, she had plenty to be stressed about.

She snuck up to her cell and took the pregnancy test out of the box so she could hide it up her sleeve. The last thing she needed was someone else knowing what she was up to.

They left the cell block and made their way to the toilets in the shower room. Michonne was expecting to have a terrible experience in there because it looked and smelt disgusting the last time she stepped in the room, but she was amazed to see that someone had cleaned it up pretty well. Well, as clean as it could be for an old prison.

"I'll wait out here", Andrea leaned on the entrance doorway and held a gun in her hand, "Go on"

Michonne couldn't help but think about the possibility that she was pregnant while she prepared to take the test. They had been so careless, and to make matters worse, they made the same mistake again only hours beforehand.

"Isn't this nice? It's like the good old days", Andrea chimed, "I still remember when you found out you were pregnant with Judith…"

"So do I", Michonne called back.

"God, weren't we wearing those dresses your mom made? The white ones with the pink flowers¬"

"Don't remind me", Michonne took a deep breath. Her hands were trembling. She could no longer hear Andrea hanging around outside because her heartbeat was throbbing in her ears.

She didn't want to have to go back into town for pills. She didn't even want to touch on the topic with Rick. Their marriage was still in a strange place and she knew that a baby would put them on opposing sides again. It could very well be the straw that broke the camel's back, and the thought alone riddled her with anxiety.

Even if she got the result she wanted right there and then, she'd still have to do it all again in a couple of weeks if she didn't get her hands on something sooner, and she point blank refused to. If she had to go into town on her own then she would.

She stepped out of the cubical with the test in her hands and her eyes glued to the screen. She'd taken enough tests in her life to know what to expect, and she wanted to see the exact moment the results were in. She looked up to make a comment to Andrea, but her lookout had vanished, and instead, she was confronted by the very person that she was actively avoiding during such a delicate time.

"...Beth said you came this way", He tore his cold gaze from the test in her hand to look at her face, "...I saw you take that from the store… I had a feeling that this was what you were doing¬"

"Thought I saw something coming this way…", Andrea walked up to the doorway while adjusting the barrel on the handgun, but when she looked up and saw Rick, she swiftly turned on the balls of her feet and left. They both heard her mutter, "Ah, shit"

Michonne blew out a breath as she lowered her gaze to the concrete floor, "...I just wanted to be sure that I'm not pregnant. That's it."

"But you didn't think that you could tell me that?", He stepped closer to her.

"No", She met his gaze as she answered him honestly, "I didn't. Not right now, not with everything that's happened."

He parked himself in front of her, allowing her to see his reaction up close; he was upset. Very upset. His glistening eyes darted from one part of her face to the other. He inhaled before he spoke, "...I want to work on this, Michonne. I want us to work on this and I want us to get past everythan' that's happened"

"I do too, Rick", She agreed, "But… I don't think we could if I was pregnant"

"We could, I swear we could", He took hold of her hand as he stressed his point, "It wouldn't be easy, but I'd be there for you every step of the way. I'd take care of you, Michonne¬ Don't you think that I would?"

"That wouldn't be the problem, Rick", She was overwhelmed to see him so worked up, "We've already been through so much to get here¬"

"I know we have, but we made it. We made it and we can make it again, I know we can", His hands cupped her face, "Thangs have been bad between us and I hate that it got that bad. You thought that I didn't need you, but I need you more than anythan' else in this world. And I wanna' be there for you even if you don't need me. I'm meant to be… and I'm willing to forget about everythan' that's happened to fix us¬"

"You can't just forget about everything that's happened, Rick. That's what got us here. That's the reason why we're even standing here right now", So much was being said, but Michonne had a feeling that they were still on very different pages, "And we're going to be reminded every single day that we wake up¬"

"I don't give a damn, Michonne", He asserted passionately, "You say the word and it's gone. We'll move on and we won't speak of it again. We'll take care of the kids, we'll be a family again…I don't care which way it goes, that child would be mine like Carl is yours. We'll make it, I promise you."

The hopeless expression on Michonne's face cleared up rather quickly, and she stared at her husband blankly as she repeated the comment that caught her attention, "...That child would be your's...like Carl is mine?"

An unsteady breath escaped him as he nodded his head, "I mean that. I do."

Michonne lost the ability to blink; she was too busy trying to figure out just what her husband was trying to imply, "...What's that supposed to mean, Rick?"

He bowed his head and slid his hands down her shoulders until he had a hold on her wrists, "...If somethan' happened… with Shane… then, it doesn't matter. If that's what you're worried about, or why you didn't wanna' tell me about this then, I understand¬I get it, Michonne. It doesn't matter"

Realisation smacked her in the face. All of a sudden, everything that he had said made sense. His behavior on the way back from town made sense, but while she had a better understanding of what was going through his mind, it still angered her so much that she could have snapped the pregnancy test in half.

He must have felt her tense because he looked up with alert, "...Michonne?"

She couldn't believe that she had to ask, "You think something happened between Shane and me?"

It appeared that he had a tough time explaining his own theory when he realized she was angry, "...I'm saying that... if that was somethan' that happened¬"

" _If_? _If_ that was something that happened?!", She moved closer to him as she spat the words out, "Are you¬ Do you realize what you're saying to me right now?"

Previously, he held her wrists out of affection; but that wasn't the case anymore. He tried to hold her back, "I thought¬ I wasn't sure, because I didn't know what happened between you¬"

"Nothing happened between us, you jackass!", It had been years since she'd resorted to calling her husband names, and she almost felt a little bad for it, but she had to let him understand just how livid she was, "I can not believe you!"

"Michonne, now hold on¬ look, I'm sorry", He pulled her hands to his chest so he had a better hold, "Can you calm down, please?"

"No!", She tried to pull away from me, "Let go of me!"

"I _want_ to but I'm scared about what you might do", His eyes pleaded with her, "I'm sorry¬ maybe I shouldn't have said that¬"

"Maybe?", She repeated the word in a mocking fashion, "Maybe you shouldn't have said that to me?"

"I'm sorry!", The light from the window hit the little beads of sweat on his forehead, "I wasn't trying to upset you¬ I just thought that if it was somethan' that happened then… You'd know that it doesn't change anythan' between us¬"

"I talked to Shane a handful of times, Rick!", She finally broke away from him, "We talked¬ that was it! Why do you even think that I'd do that to you? What the hell have I done in the last sixteen¬ seventeen years to make you believe that I'm even capable of that? Well? What?!"

He wiped his shiny brow with the back of his hand, "...You haven't done anythan'¬"

"Nothing! Not a _damn_ thing!", She still had the pregnancy test in her grip, "I am better than that and you should think better of me¬"

"I do, Michonne¬"

"No, you don't! If you did then you would have never even thought that let alone had the nerve to say it to my face!", Her hands were trembling so much that she couldn't keep them still if she tried, "So don't you dare put that on me, Rick. Don't."

He hung his head in shame as he set his hands at his sides. He apologized again, "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking¬"

"I know exactly what you were thinking, and I am warning you, Grimes…", She raised her pointer at him, "This is the last time that you're going to put me and Lori in the same boat. The last time. If I ever have to explain myself like this again then¬"

"I know", He didn't want to hear her say it, but he knew, "I know."

Michonne released any remaining rage with a long exhale. He still hadn't looked up at her, which was for the best.

"...I'm¬"

"Don't!", She issued firmly, "Just, _don't_ "

His chest grew as he took in air through his nose. It turned out that the final straw to break the camel's back wouldn't be a baby; it would be his inability to understand that Lori's mistakes had no bearings on his wife. Just thinking about it was enough to make her blood boil all over again, and she was reminded of the test in her hand when she clenched her fist.

She peered down at the screen and was overcome with relief when she saw the result she wanted. Her gaze found him again, "I'm not pregnant."

He lifted his head by the tiniest fraction, then nodded, "...Alright."

She huffed and puffed like a dragon as she looked around the room, "...And I'm going to need something, because we messed up again today and I don't want to have to do this again"

He raised his head a fraction more, and even though there was some delay in his response, he eventually agreed, "Yeah. Okay."

The temptation to walk away and leave him there was ever present, but she couldn't. She wouldn't. Up until his offensive admission, he had shown her the kind of passion that she missed dearly, and it made her want to have the same kind of approach to their relationship, but since she was still angry so she couldn't take the aggression out of her tone just yet, "...I love you. I've _never_ stopped, and I would never do anything like that so think better of me."

He finally lifted his head up to look at her properly. He gave her the world's most discreet nod, "I love you, too."

She gestured towards the door, "Come on. Let's go"

Returning back to the cell block like nothing happened wasn't easy. Some of the group had come back inside and were taking their pick of the items on the table; Carl was picking up a bottle of Shampoo as he held Andre on his hip, while Judith riffled through clothes beside Andrea, and they both looked appalled. Michonne discarded of the test in Rick's room and joined them, while he made his way back outside to help the others.

"I never thought I'd be so glad to have sheets", Carol chirped happily as she passed Michonne with a blanket in her hand and a pillow under her arm, "Thank you"

Michonne was a little surprised to be thanked, but she graciously accepted, "No problem"

"Mommy!", Andre called as he tried to wrestle out of his brother's hold, "Help me!"

Carl turned to face his mother, "He wasn't listening outside. He kept trying to run away from me"

"Well, that's a problem", Michonne gave Andre a stern look as she plucked him from Carl's hands, "You have to listen to Carl, Andre"

Her youngest began to pout, "I don' wanna'..."

"Well you have to, or else you can't play outside with Demi and the others", She shifted him onto her hip, "You don't want that, do you?"

"...No", He whined as he nestled his head in the crook of her neck, "Don' upset me…"

Michonne peaked at him with surprise, then looked at Carl to make sure that he heard the remark too. Carl looked as though he'd heard it before, "He kept saying that when I told him to stop running away"

She couldn't help but snigger at them both, "What am I going to do with the two of you?... Other than give you both a haircut"

Carl immediately stepped away from her, "No thank you"

"I could just trim it", She reached out and ran her hands through his long, chestnut hair, "Just so I can see those beautiful eyes properly¬"

"No thank you", Carl repeated again as he tipped his head out of her reach.

Michonne flashed him an evil grin, "You're going to have to sleep sometime¬"

"Mama, can I have this?", Judith approached her with a short, midnight blue, silk nightdress in her hand, "It's pretty. I like it"

Michonne's grin disappeared. She plucked the dress from her daughter's hands, "That isn't the type of thing that you wear around people"

Judith furrowed her dark brown brows at her, "Why not?"

"Because… it's mature, and you're too young for silk.", Michonne assumed it was something that Maggie had picked up, because she certainly hadn't, "Find something pink... And _fluffy_ "

"That's funny", Carl released an amused snort as he gathered up his little collection of products, "You sound just like dad"

Her mood improved dramatically after spending time with her kids, so she was reluctant to leave them that afternoon. They hadn't had the chance to really enjoy each other's company in so long, and the pressure of having to find somewhere safe to live and protect each other had stolen those precious moments from them.

When the fence was mended, the group were able to prepare a nice, simple meal and enjoy it together in the canteen. The atmosphere was relaxed and Daryl had sourced some alcohol in their run into town, so drinks were flowing between the tables. They laughed and joked as though they weren't afraid for their lives the night before, but they were reminded that they weren't alone when two unexpected visitors turned up at the door.

"...We're sorry to interrupt…", The older, white inmate spoke as he approached them with his hands clasped together, "But… we'd just like to talk"

Rick handed Andre to Judith, then slowly stood up from his seat on the bench. So did Daryl and Tyrese. The rest of the group watched on anxiously.

"...I'm Axel… This here is Oscar", Axel motioned to the tall, stoic-looking man behind him, "And we'd like to ask if we can join you and your people"

"Oh boy…", Andrea mumbled quietly before taking a gulp of her wine.

"We don't mean to harm anyone… We aren't violent criminals. We've never been in any kind of fight¬ or had a problem with the guards that run this place" Axel continued, "We've always kept to ourselves. Never been a bother¬"

"So what's your point?", Daryl swung his leg over the bench as he eyed both men from beneath his dark hair.

Axel shifted uneasily, "...We would pull our weight. We'd help with whatever you need… we can show you where everythan' is around here if you just give us a chance"

Michonne noticed Dale and Hershel had turned back to look at Rick, and she did too. After his last performance with the other inmates, it seemed that everyone was expecting him to take the lead and make the decision for them all. It would be a tough decision to make, because if they proved to be anything but decent men, then it would come back to haunt him. On the other hand, they could just be decent men.

Rick peered down at her, so she discreetly tilted her head to indicate her stance. He then looked over at the others, specifically Daryl, Tyrese, and Glenn. A few tense moments later, he spoke up, "...You can have a seat and join us for now. After that, you go back to your cell block and we'll talk it over properly tomorrow"

Axel seemed pleased with his decision, while Oscar showed his appreciation with a simple nod of his head. Daryl didn't look pleased with his compromise at all, and made Rick aware of that by staring him down as he dropped himself back on the bench, "Now that's some bullshit..."

Rick was the last to take a seat after watching Axel and Oscar find a space on Dale's table. The situation would be a test for him; they really would have to discuss whether to accept the inmates but as a group. If we no longer a man on a solo mission to protect them all, then everyone would have the chance to have their input and they'll make the decision together.

Having the inmates there also planted an idea in Michonne's mind; If they continued to look after the prison, they would be in a position to help others and take newcomers in. They had the space to do so much, and if they were to utilize all of the amenities the prison had to offer then it wouldn't just be an institution, it would be the home to many. The more hands they had to help; the more they could accomplish.

Everyone returned to their cell blocks after dinner, and for Michonne, that meant that the kids poured into her cell. Carl sat on the edge of the bed as he tried to get an old cassette player to work, while Judith sat on the floor playing with Andre. She goaded him into dancing, "Come on, Andre. You have to be able to dance, or else you won't get a girlfriend!"

Carl peaked back at his mother as he frowned, "Where does she get this from?"

"Your aunt 'Drea", Michonne ejected dryly as she watched Judith encourage Andre to swing his hips, "Anything that sounds mildly inappropriate for a child to say? She's the culprit"

"I do it!", Andre cheered as he swung his butt from side to side with an abundance of enthusiasm.

"Look at my little guy go!", Michonne beamed at him, "You're doing it!"

"Hold on, Andre…", Carl placed one of the tapes he'd found in the player and turned up the dial, "I think I found something for you to dance, too"

A song older than all three of the children began to play, leaving Carl and Judith dumbfounded, but Michonne gasped, "Oh my God, I remember this song! I used to dance to this when I was your age, Judith"

"...They had music back then?", The fact that her daughter was being very serious when she asked the question, offended Michonne deeply. When Judith saw the damage she'd done to her confidence, she quickly turned her attention back to Andre as she said quietly, "Or maybe I didn't say anything…"

Carl burst out laughing as he turned the music up, "Go on Andre, you can dance to this"

Michonne grinned as her little boy found his groove and started bouncing around on the spot. Judith started encouraging him again by holding his hands and bouncing with them. When a figure appeared at the door, she looked up excited, "Daddy, Look! I taught Andre how to dance!"

"I can see that…", Rick strolled into the room with a smile as he swept his hair back from his face, "...He's really going for it"

"See? Now he can get a girlfriend"

Rick steps slowed when he heard Judith's comment, then he rolled his eyes as he muttered something about Andrea under his breath. Michonne scooted over so he could take a seat since he was coming towards the bed. He sat down and joined the audience.

"Okay, now shake your butt", Judith instructed, and Andre paused for a short second, then started swinging his butt again. Judith erupted in a fit of giggles, "Daddy, look!"

"Oh, wow", Rick and Carl laughed in unison, and they sounded so alike that it was as if there was an echo in the room. Rick pulled off his boots, then sat back against the wall. Michonne leaned forward a little without thinking like she often did when they were seated together or laid together, and he put his arm behind her with no hesitation. She leaned against him, even though a fairly large part of her was still annoyed with him, but there was no denying that she felt comfortable doing so. He sighed as he focused on Andre, "I think he might have inherited my limited ability to dance…"

"Carl did, too", Judith added slyly as she snickered at her big brother.

"Thanks a lot", Carl stated dryly as he frowned at his sister.

"Both of you need to leave my boys alone", Michonne continued to watch her youngest dance around excitedly, "They can dance just fine"

"Let's teach you another dance move…", Judith continued to tutor her little brother, "Aunt 'Drea taught me this one at my first pageant¬"

"I thought I could hear some music playing", Andrea shimmied her way into the room with a glass of wine in her hand, "Let's get this party started!"

Michonne felt Rick lean forward as though he was about to leave, but she caught his knee with a vice grip, "Stop."

"I need to teach you kids how to really dance", Andrea set down her glass and began pointing her index fingers in all different directions, "And I'll you the story about how I had, not one, not two, but _three_ different guys fighting to buy your hot young aunt a drink at a club one night; all because of a special dance move"

"And there it is", Rick muttered as he pinched his nose bridge, "There's the inappropriate story"

"You know she won't get around to telling it", Michonne reasoned. Unlike everyone else, enjoyed watching her oldest friend dance as long as there was a safe distance between the two of them, "She's going to start dancing and forget"

"Oh yeah, you don't know about this one", Andrea started to throw her hips one way and another as she clapped her hands.

"I remember you dancing like that at one of my birthday parties", Carl peered at the dancing woman through narrowed eyes, "Didn't you elbow one of my friends in the nose?"

Andre waved her hand dismissively at him, "I don't know what you're talking about"

"We'll head back into town tomorrow morning", Rick whispered in Michonne's ear, "Just me and you"

She shot a quick look in his direction, pleased that he had remembered her complaint from earlier, "Okay"

"...That's alright?"

"Yes, Rick. That's alright."


End file.
